


Last First Kiss

by harry_stiles



Series: Tell Me A Lie [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: But mostly fluff, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Love, Male-Female Friendship, Romance, some more smuttiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-04 02:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 121,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4123243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harry_stiles/pseuds/harry_stiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miscommunication. It's something Grace Evergreen and Harry Styles have gotten so good at they managed to ruin everything good between them. The hugs, the kisses, the shared laughter... they all seem to be in the distant past for these two.</p>
<p>But we all deserve that second chance to make everything right, don't we?</p>
<p>There's always that moment in life where everyone wishes they could turn back time, and that moment is right now for Grace. But will it be too late to finally tell the truth when Harry ends up in a life changing accident, or will everything regress for both Grace and One Direction as we all know it? </p>
<p>AU in which everyone's spring and summer get crazier than imagined, Harry finally makes smarter decisions, Zouis continue to play matchmaker, Liam is less bossy, Niall is still confused and Grace will always believe in happy endings. </p>
<p>**Last First Kiss is the much anticipated sequel to Tell Me A Lie. Please read TMAL first before reading this or you will be really confused!**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Counting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday again and you fans of TMAL knows what Friday means... it's the day of all the great surprises! This time, the wait is over! The sequel to TMAL is finally here and I'm just as excited for this story like I was the first one, maybe even more, and I hope you guys are just as excited as well! It's going to be a blast, and if you thought TMAL was fun and crazy, just know LFK is going to push everything to the limit.
> 
> New readers, welcome! If you haven't already read the first book in this series, Tell Me A Lie, please do so or you'll be massively confused ha. You won't be disappointed with this series at all and thank you for getting curious enough to drop by!
> 
> Both new and old readers, thanks for giving this a read! If you like this please leave comments/kudos. It's a massive motivator and they are very much appreciated!  
> So without further ado, happy reading and enjoy! It's going to be a bumpy ride from the start, so fasten those seatbelts!

                “You know, there’s always been something I’ve wanted to tell you.” Harry was staring down at the rug in his living room as he curled his toes in the plushy softness. He looked back up at Grace, his green eyes mesmerizing in the fading evening light.

                “What’s your secret this time Styles?” She raised her eyebrows at him in question as she leaned back on his sofa. He had been telling her a lot of juicy secrets about his past here recently, and she could only imagine he was going to tell her right now.

                His pink lips curled into a soft smile but he turned his head away again, shaking his head. Was he blushing? He then turned back to look at her after a few seconds, this time leaning in so close she could feel his breath on her lips. “I’m in love with you Gracie. Always have been.” He tilted his head slightly to the side to press his lips against hers in a shy kiss. It was nothing like the kisses he had given her before where he would always dominate. This was gentler... sweeter. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer as he chuckled against her lips, his hands starting to slide up her thighs to her waist.

                She pulled away from him briefly to tell him the three words she always wanted to, but just before she could tell Harry she loved him back she was interrupted by the feeling of something jumping on her, making her eyes fly open in surprise.

                “Happy…” she growled at her elderly Labrador Retriever as he wagged his tail innocently at her. Little did he know, he had just ruined the most beautiful dream she’d ever had in several months.

                _It felt so real too…_ she thought, rubbing at her bottom lip with two fingers slowly as she sat up. Harry’s taste, the way he smelled, how soft his hair felt against her arms… It was almost as if she was back in his living room a few months ago.

                “Six months…” she muttered to herself, glancing at the One Direction calendar on her wall Liam had gifted her as a joke so she could _"wake up seeing Harry every morning"_. It had been six months since they had _broken up_. She had been counting.

                She was always counting, maybe just hoping they could turn things around but it never happened; she knew it couldn’t.

                _“I’ll miss you… We’ll keep in touch though, right?”_

She constantly heard his voice in her head, almost like he was right there whispering in her ear, his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear. She wanted to believe him when he said it; Harry never ever broke promises, but the most important promise he had made to her he had somehow broken.

                She looked back up at Happy again who simply stared at her with intelligent, deep brown eyes. Grace wanted to say she wouldn’t be broken over Harry leaving her, but she still cried sometimes at night thinking about him and what they could have been. It was so stupid, she knew it, but just like her mother had told her, she couldn’t help who she had fallen in love with. That man just so happened to be in the biggest boyband in the world, her fake ex-boyfriend, one of the best friends she had in a long time, Harry Styles.

                Happy suddenly pushed his head against her shoulder, asking to be rubbed. She patted the big dog on the head, forcing herself out of bed for the day. She couldn’t sit around moping over Harry. What was in the past was in the past and there was nothing she could do about it.

                Unexpectedly, her phone began to ping with a familiar message tone. Her stomach flipped, hoping it was from Harry as she rushed to grab it from her bedside table, but as usual it was simply Louis who had managed to still stay in touch with her after everything. Somehow the two became closer after she and Harry broke up, and hit it off quite well, especially after he broke up with his longtime girlfriend.

                **_Morning sunshine!_** ☀

            _Of course it wouldn’t be from Harry… he hasn’t texted me in months._ She texted Louis back slowly, sifting through her thoughts. She still saved the very last message Harry had sent her, something about they should hang out soon and he missed her. Thing was, he never followed through with those plans either.

                _Tell me more lies Harry Styles,_ she thought to herself when she put her phone back down, heading to the kitchen to give Happy his breakfast. After that she quickly went to go freshen up for the day, knowing she’d have to be in her workplace in an hour and a half to get business done. There was no time to think about her past with Harry, she had a full day where she couldn’t lose focus for a mere second.

                She was fierce, she was beautiful, she was strong as the media would call her now after the breakup story of Harry cheating on her. She was Grace Evergreen, one of the top models in all of LA thanks to him. Despite her title, deep down inside, behind all the makeup, behind all the glamor and glitz, behind the media’s strung up lies, she was just a young woman torn apart from missing her old friend and first love.

 

* * *

                Living without Harry had been cumbersome at first. She was used to waking up with him making breakfast or either herself making it. Then they’d chat about whatever during breakfast until he either had to do something work related, they decided to go out together or they just chilled on his sofa for the day. She missed the warm smiles he’d give her from across his sofa, sometimes telling his dry jokes out of nowhere that somehow always made her laugh. She missed Harry more than anything.

                “Alright! We can end here!”

                The sudden voice of the director snapped her out of her breakfast daze with Harry. She let out a sigh as she lowered her right arm from the garden lattice. She couldn’t be any happier that this day was over after having to stand for two hours with no breaks. She could not wait to get this caked on makeup of various spring colors off of her face and get out of these outrageous blue heels.

                _I just want to get home and drink some nice tea. Maybe text Louis later, check my emails, get back to Heather…_ Her thoughts droned on and on as she started to walk back to her backroom until she was stopped by a deep, accented voice.

                “You did great today!” The man she had been working with all day suddenly said to her, clapping his hand onto her shoulder as the crew behind them started to take the set apart.

                She turned to look at him, smiling politely even though she couldn’t stand him. Even though she didn't like him, she had to be nice in this business industry. He had the looks: tall, slim, light brown skin, curly brown hair… but he was no Harry Styles and never would be. He was Chester Poon, the man she bumped into several months ago at Liam’s surprise birthday party and more importantly, the son of the owner of the company she now worked under, _Sun_. It was said his father had always had his eye on her, ever since Harry brought her into the spotlight.

                _“You’re naturally beautiful, no wonder that fucking Brit wanted to date you!” Mr. Poon laughed darkly, smoking his cigar right in his office. He blew the smoke out of his mouth, the toxic fumes drifting towards Grace. She fanned it away cautiously, hoping not to offend the stocky man. “But on top of that, you’re smart as hell to get away from him. What a disgusting prick.”_

 _Grace had flinched at his words, knowing in her heart she had to speak up for Harry despite this big business man wanting to hire her. Harry was_ not _a bad guy. He never was and never would be all the nasty things people called him. “Harry’s not a bad man sir-”_

 _“Please.” He took his cigar, smashing the butt of it forcefully in the ashtray sitting in front of him with large sausage fingers. “He’s got you brain washed. But enough about the bastard, we aren’t here to talk about him. Let’s talk business. You’re my asset now. You’re going to make so much money using his name on the big billboards after what he did to you. Girls will want to dress like you just because you dated him. Girls will want to_ be _you to get Harry’s attention.”_

The whole idea repulsed her and she hated all of it, but it was her source of income for now. Even if her company was a jerk to Harry, she herself would never be so cruel to the man that had taken care of her for the entire summer. She saw herself quitting in a few months, not being able to tolerate their attitudes but right now she needed to get herself back on her feet.

                “Thanks. You did as well.” She nodded at him, continuing her walk to the backroom to get changed back into her own comfortable clothes. She didn’t want to be reminded of Harry even if he was constantly on her mind, but every time she saw Chester he was all she could think about. It wouldn’t help either that it seemed that Chester had developed a crush on her. Everywhere she went, the older man seemed to be there as well. He had even been successful in getting her phone number and even though she told him it was strictly for business purposes he still texted her weird things about going on dates. She went out with him once to satisfy him, but the next thing she knew her name was making headlines again.

                **_Harry Styles’ ex-girlfriend now in another man’s arms! Just what makes Grace Evergreen so beautiful?_**

                The title was enough to make her cringe on how they tried to make a pun of _What Makes You Beautiful_. That song meant a lot to her. Despite it being One Direction’s first single, it was the song she had been listening to when she actually kissed Harry and meant it. It wasn’t an act like she told him, she meant all the words she said and that kiss back on that summer evening on the beach.

                _If only I told him it was real…_ She let out a sigh, sitting down in her chair and allowing the staff to remove the various hues of blue and green from her upper eyelids. Somehow after everything that happened, her name never came up in a bad way, but she had an inkling of how it never did. The only promise Harry had managed to keep her was to keep her name clean. While hell seemed to be breaking loose over his name and One Direction still to this day, she was revered as some princess and role model to young girls. Despite the positive view the media had given her, of course she still had people that hated her for even breathing the same air as Harry. Both ideas made her sick but there was nothing she could do about it. The mess would all die down soon especially with Harry’s name coming up in magazines for other reasons.

                When the staff was done removing her makeup she shooed them out of the room, wanting to be alone for the first time since early this morning. She let out a long breath once they were gone, glancing at the magazine a worker had brought her earlier on request. She knew it was a bad thing, but she always kept up with Harry no matter what. She blinked slowly, reading the heading in disbelief still at how things had changed in the short amount of time they hadn’t been together.

                **_Harry Styles already with a new girl, Natasha? Both caught together several times! Was Grace just a fling?_**

She knew the media made up absolute bullshit, but this was real this time. It wasn’t his fake girlfriend, it was someone he was always walking around with, holding hands with, sometimes kissing for real…

                Grace turned away from the magazine, changing back into her own clothing and throwing on a light grey hoodie. It was completely the opposite of her appearance in magazines and on billboards, where she’d be in skimpy skirts, heavy makeup and low cut tops. This was the real her.

                _It still smells like him,_ she quietly thought as she pulled the jacket up closer to her face. It was one of Harry’s older jackets he had from when he was eighteen that no longer fit him. He was going to throw it out when he found it in his closet but she had stopped him, saying it would fit her perfectly.

                It was the only thing she had left to remember him…

                She quietly left the building, praying to God that Chester would not somehow track her down and ask her to dinner. Luckily he didn’t seem to be around as she hopped into her new SUV, pulling out of the lot quickly to get home and get some rest.

                Little did she know, she would be resting up for both big and shocking events in a few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! I know this may start off a bit slow and a bit sad but I always said I wouldn't make you sad for too long! Next chapter will be very exciting and more uplifting, so get ready for it! As always, thanks for reading and I'll see you next update!


	2. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's that update of the week! It is a bit of short chapter but you all finally get to see someone very special that you may have thought you'd never see again :) Happy reading and enjoy!

                “No Chester I can’t today. I have plans with someone else. I’ll talk to you at work… yeah… bye.”

                Grace let out a long sigh as she hung up the phone, shaking her head as she put her phone down on the end table in front of her. Her coworker had attempted to get her to go on a lunch date with him and she would never let that happen again.

                Trying not to think about Chester too much, she began to sort through her mail for the day. As she started to go through the stack, she couldn't help but to think of an unusual letter she received a few days ago. She thought it was some strange spam at first but sheer curiosity made her open it and read the details.

            **Dear Miss Evergreen,**

**Greetings! We want you to participate in our latest photoshoot for our company with some of the most anticipated and well-loved celebrities of our time. We’re reaching out to you in efforts that you will also love to join us in our pool of attractive young men and women including now solo artist Nick Jonas, Zayn Malik and several other selections. Please return this stamped envelope to the address below if interested and we will send you more details as time approaches the deadline!**

She could remember thinking the letter was shady as hell but what bothered her more was the mention of Zayn’s name. The older man had decided to leave everything behind to start up his own family but yet the media was still trying to stamp his name everywhere. Being friends with him, and still talking to him every now and then, she knew that was only the partial truth. Zayn was loyal to his wife and busy with his new life; he didn’t have time to be recording in studios or taking part in photoshoots.

            Grace grabbed her phone again and headed off to her bedroom after realizing most of her mail was bills. She was just about to turn the ringer off on her phone so she could take a nap as she plopped down into bed, but a new text message from Louis stopped her.

            _He sure keeps my phone busy…_ She sighed to herself as she read his message. It was nearly as if they were both dating with the way he texted and talked to her, but she knew she and Louis were just good friends. _At least I just see him that way…_ She was hoping he didn’t have any feelings for her because her heart still belonged with Harry even if he was seeing another woman.

            **_How’s it going today love?_**

**_Fine. It’s one of my days off. How’s yours?_** She was just about to put her phone down but his reply came again immediately.

            **_Great! :) The other lads and I are getting ready to wrap up our last show on the American leg of the tour tonight. Harry says hi by the way!_**

_Harry… He has fingers and a phone, why can’t he just text me instead?_ Not wanting to get smart with Louis she simply sent back, **_Hmm tell him I said hi back. I know you guys will rock it tonight! I’m gonna take a nap rn Lou so send me something after the show if you’re up for it. I’ll be up then!_**

She turned her phone on silent before he could send her anything else, staring up at the ceiling as she laid back down. _Why did he bring up Harry? He knows I don’t like talking about him much these days._ She let out another sigh before turning on her side to think of that letter she received. Maybe it was legitimate and it could take her mind off of Harry plus give her a safety net of another company to fall into when she quit working for _Sun_?

                “Sounds like a good plan to me…” She leaned over to pat Happy on the head as the dog joined her in bed. _Sounds like a darn good plan…_

 

* * *

                Grace didn’t really expect the company to reply back a few days later with how shady the letter looked, but yet they did. She decided on going through with her thoughts from the other day, heading out to the location of the shoot and reading the return letter again on the way there. After she looked at the name more clearly, it was plain as day to her this was also the new company that dealt with One Direction’s affairs.

                _God please don’t let them be here._ She stepped into an elevator to take her to the floor where the photoshoot would be on. It wasn’t that she hated any of the guys; she was still great friends with Louis and Zayn, even though he was no longer part of the group. Niall rarely texted her to begin with and Liam hadn’t talked to her much since the last time she saw him at Harry’s place. She understood the boys were busy, but she did miss having Liam coming over to Harry’s place and propping his big feet up on the coffee table. Harry would curl his lip up in disgust and they’d get into a mini fight until the older man would embarrass Harry with some partial dark secret from his past.

                _Good times…_ She pressed the button for the fifth floor, biting her lip. _Come on Grace now isn’t the time to be thinking about the good times you, Harry and the other boys shared._

                She went back to reading the letter to clear her mind and mentally prepare herself for the next few minutes to come. It was specified in the letter that only a few celebrities were picked for each day at different time slots to allocate for everyone. They did not unveil the names of who was working with who, but they did promise that each choice was carefully selected and thought out. Grace didn’t know for sure who they’d put her with since she wasn’t a major celebrity, but despite trying to imagine herself with someone attractive like Nick Jonas, all she could think about was Harry.

                **Today’s theme is…** she read carefully trying to clear her mind again. **Today’s theme would be Young Love.** _Great do I have to kiss someone? The first and last person I kissed was Harry and I would like to keep it that way..._ She tried not to think about it as the elevator suddenly dinged, letting her know she was nearly at her destination. She walked out the doors as soon as they opened, rounding a corner that would lead her to the room they had set up the photoshoot in.

                She came to a large blue door with a single vertical window on one side, the number 301 placed on a shiny tan colored plaque. She checked the room number on the door and then in the letter, confirming to herself that this indeed was the right location. Taking one deep breath, she pushed the door open with a smile on her face to give the director and the other workers a good expression. Her smile fell flat though when the scene in front of her took her by complete surprise.

                If she could go back in time and have told herself to just shred the letter, she would have as a lump rose in her throat. A familiar face turned to look at her, a shocked expression quickly replaced by a smile lining his thin lips. He waved at her, getting the other two younger men’s attention just before the director got the man’s attention she was least hoping to seek.

                “Grace! You’re here! About time!” The older, chubby man walked over to her, a wide grin on his face as he held his arms out in a hug.

                At her name being called the last person on earth she wanted to see right now turned to face her, his thin eyebrows furrowed in confusion and shock. Their eyes met immediately, his green ones lighting up instantly as a small smile formed on his thin, pink lips she had been kissing just a few months ago. He looked good, his hair seeming to have grown out more as it fell in loose curls around his face and across his shoulders. He seemed to have gotten slightly taller as well, or perhaps it was just from the boots he was wearing. Either way, he looked drop dead gorgeous as usual and she hated to admit it.

                _This is not happening… No matter how good he looks!_ She shook her head, hoping that just maybe if she blinked he’d disappear from sight, but no, when she opened her eyes again Harry Styles was standing in front of her after six long months with this stupid grin plastered all over his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes I know so far it's a bit slow but things will pick up very soon. Next chapter is going to be very fun and from then on out the slow period will be over! Thanks for reading and thank you for the comments/kudos! See you next update!


	3. Coincidence?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise Tuesday update! I want to start getting this thing out faster for you guys, so look forward to multiple updates a week from here on out! As always, happy reading!

                _This is not happening… This is not happening…_ was all Grace could repeat in her head over and over again. She nearly felt glued to the spot as both the boys and the director stared at her, the director giving her a look of concern while the boys were sprouting happy faces.

                “Well isn’t this a coincidence?” Louis was the first to rush over to her, his eyes sparkling with happiness and a hint of mischief. “When’s the last time I’ve seen you?” He gave her a brief hug that was nearly suffocating.

                “You just saw me last month Lou.” She smiled at him when he pulled away.

                “If it isn’t Grace!” Liam greeted her next, giving her a small wave. “I really didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

                “Well here she is right in front of you.” Niall nudged his older friend, laughing when Liam gave him the eye. “Hey Grace! How have you been?”

                “I’m fine. How are you all?” She couldn’t help but to notice how attractive Niall had become since she last saw him. Was it that she hadn’t seen him in a while so his looks were refreshing or was it because of his new haircut?

                “We’ve been great. Tired but great.” Louis smiled at her before his eyes wandered over to Harry. She followed his gaze and it was only then that Grace noticed the youngest man had been hanging back behind the others, not bothering to greet her at all.

                _What’s wrong with him? He was just perky earlier?_ She was trying to catch his eye but before she could the director had walked over and was starting to give them introductions.

                “This is great! So you all know each other?”

                “Uhm yeah. She was Harry’s-” Niall started but Liam elbowed him hard in the ribs. The shorter blonde glared at him but Liam just talked over him.

                “Yeah we talk a bit. Some more than others, but we all pretty much get along.”

                “Excellente!” The director suddenly yelled, making both Niall and Louis furrow their eyebrows at the sudden change in language. “Just what I want to hear! Great relationships make for a great photoshoot!”

                _This man is nuts…_ Grace looked over at Louis who shrugged, putting his finger up to his head to twirl it around showing he thought this man was crazy too. She couldn’t help but laugh at him, making the director squint at her.

                “Well since you are already acquainted with one another let me introduce myself. You may simply call me Director Charles. I’m the one that put this whole thing together, who sent you the letters, who handpicked you all! I am the ring leader of this circus…”

                _Yeah he’s definitely a nut._ Grace shook her head at the man as he went on and on, his voice starting to drone out as time went on. She couldn’t help but look over at the other men she would be working with today. They seemed as bored as she was but this time she finally caught Harry’s eye as she made a clean sweep around the room.

                She would have given him a small smile and wave, maybe made it a bit flirty, but she wasn’t sure how he’d react. He had a new girlfriend now so did he even think about her anymore, or was she just an old friend he had forgotten thanks to his new romance? Did he think about her at night like she thought of him or was he too busy giving it to his new woman until the crack of dawn?

                The thoughts disturbed her as she turned away, wishing a thousand times over she could still turn back time. She had been an idiot to not tell Harry how she really felt, but now it was too late. He probably didn’t even feel the same way about her to begin with…

                “Well you two seem to hit it off well,” Director Charles’ voice registered in her ears again when he looked at her. “Why don’t you two be the young couple!”

                “Wait… What!?” Both Louis and Grace said at the same time in utter shock and confusion when the director pointed at them both.

                “But she-”

                “He and I are just good friends! That’s weird!”

                The director began laughing loudly at them suddenly, making Louis frown in irritation and Niall laugh nervously along with him. “I’m just joking! I wouldn’t do that to you! But I do want _you_ and _you_ to be our couple!”

                Grace felt her stomach nearly drop when the director pointed at both her and none other than Harry. He raised his thin eyebrows in question, making the director laugh even harder.

                “Yes you young man! You two look brilliant together!” The older fat man clapped his hands together. “I saw it when I was talking, how you two looked at each other. Love can be rekindled between you both, I know it. The fire never left.”

                “Oh…” Liam said quietly in the silence that followed, looking from both Harry to Grace. He raised his eyebrows at Louis in some unspoken command and the oldest man raised them back. What were they doing?

                “Alright let’s get this party started!” Director Charles shouted as he walked away from them, pointing to their makeup artists and costume designers. He was screaming something about how it would take a full hour to get everyone prepared but Grace didn’t hear his words at all. All she could think about was how she’d be back in Harry’s arms again…

* * *

 

                Grace’s photoshoots back at _Sun_ usually took several hours, enough to where her back and feet would hurt from standing for so long but today was different. The director was precise, knew what he wanted, and was excellent at his job. It was only an hour into the shoot, and he predicted they’d be done in another half an hour.

                “Alright take a break guys! I want you freshened up for this last bit of our shoot! It was short, cute and simple up to this point, but now it’s about to get really complicated!” Director Charles hopped down from his chair, signaling break time had started.

                “You look _amazing,_ ” was the first thing Louis said when the other boys scrambled to grab some lemonade from the back of the room.

                Grace shrugged, giving a small smile in embarrassment at his words. “Thanks. You do as well.”

                Louis nodded at her, going to head off with the other men. She noticed then that Harry was still standing on the set with her, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

                “Hey.” His voice was barely above a whisper when he finally spoke, his face relaxing. He walked closer to her, his movements slightly constricted by the tight suit he was wearing for today’s shoot. All of the boys had been put in suits while Grace was in a simple, elegant white gown. So far they had been taking group shots together even though she and Harry had been paired up. She knew in this next part that it had to be the big one where she and Harry would take their shots together.

                “Hey,” she replied in an equally as quiet tone. There were so many things she was dying to ask him at this moment but she knew she couldn’t. Harry wasn’t in her life anymore.

                “Nice seeing you again.” A small, shy smile formed on his pink lips. Where had the confident man of six months ago gone? “You look… stunning.”

                “Nice seeing you too and thank you.” She nodded her head, trying to not blush. She could remember there was once a time when Harry would always compliment her before they went on _dates_ , but now that was just a faded memory. “You look amazing as well.” _He does really fix up nice._

                They stood there again in an awkward silence, Harry staring at her like he was trying to burn her face into his memory for later. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more but the next thing she knew Director Charles was waddling over to them, shouting about how they both needed to get changed.

                “You two have the biggest roles coming up next this is no time for flirting! Miss Evergreen go get changed immediately. You’re going to take longer here than Harry to put your new outfit together! And no buts!” He took one arm and shoved Harry to the other side of the room, then his other arm to push Grace towards her side of the room. “And Harry, no peeking at her before she’s ready!”

                _What does he have planned for us,_ was all she could think before she would be getting the next shock of the day.

* * *

               

                Grace maybe saw this happening five or ten years into her future, but not right now as she stood so close to Harry she could barely breathe in a bridal gown.

                “You two look excellent! Magnificent!” The director kissed his fingers and clapped at them. “Look like you’re in love! This is what this is all about!”

                Grace could feel a blush coming on as she looked up into Harry’s green eyes. The last time they were this close he was hugging her goodbye and whispering an _I love you_ into her hair. To this day, she still didn’t believe Harry had meant what he said, but she knew deep down inside she was indeed in love with him.

                “Hey you’re with me, relax.” Harry gave her a gentle smile, making a cold chill run down her spine. It was almost just like the old days… “Just pretend we’re getting married.”

                “You and I?” She couldn’t help but laugh a bit at him as the camera clicked while taking their picture. “Don’t be ridiculous.” He flinched a bit at her words but she chose to ignore it. “Even if we were getting married to other people, we’re too young. We don’t even know what we want in a person.” _I know that I want you though Harry…_

“Yeah… maybe,” he said quietly, ending their conversation on an awkward note. He then moved one of his hands to her waist, making her frown at him. Just what did he think he was doing? “But nothing’s impossible.”

                _What does he mean by that?_ She tried to figure out if he was talking about them getting married to each other or about getting married at such a young age, but before she could process it he was moving away and the director was telling them they had done a great job.

                “You two were brilliant!” Liam congratulated them as soon as they both stepped off the set. “Weirdly enough, I could actually imagine you two were getting married the whole time.”

                “Don’t get your hopes up Leem.” Grace gave him a faint smile before heading back to her dressing room, bunching up her huge dress to help her walk. _What is it with these guys today?_

“Hey this is nice fabric, don’t drag it.”

                Harry’s sudden voice behind her made her cringe. If anything she just wanted a moment alone right now to sort out her thoughts. She still couldn’t believe she was actually seeing him again, and on the job as well. Once her home company found out about this she was done for but deep down inside she didn’t care. She still liked Harry but what hurt was that she was still in love with him and he didn’t feel the same way.

                “Thanks Harry,” she said quietly, sitting down in her chair with a sigh. She expected him to leave but he hung around, still looking amazing in his suit and with his hair styled back as he stood in the doorway to her room.

                It took him a while to say something else as he studied her face, letting out a long breath before he said, “I know we haven’t talked in a long while, but I really had fun today.”

                _Is this his common line any time he hangs out with someone?_ “Yeah same.” She gave him a short response in hope that he’d leave this time around.

                He nodded his head as if he wanted to say more but he changed his mind. “It’s been great seeing you!” was all he said as he headed out the door, allowing the staff to help her get undressed and back into her regular clothes. _Odd…_

_At least I can just go back home now and relax. Maybe take Happy for another walk,_ she thought as she exited her room after she was changed back into her regular clothes. She expected to be free for the day and to just walk out with a simple goodbye to the boys but when Louis waved her down she knew she was in trouble.

                “Hey Grace where are you going?” He stopped leaning on Liam’s shoulder to walk over to her.

                “Back home. I need to get some rest.”

                “You don’t even look tired. You’re bursting with energy!” Louis clapped her shoulder gently before asking, “Why don’t you have lunch with us and the lads? We can catch up with one another.” He gave her a big smile. Even though he was asking her to lunch, it sounded more like a demand to her. “Some of us have been missing you more than others,” he added in a lower tone.

                She was just about to question him on who until he slung his arm around her shoulder, showing her off to the rest of the boys as he held her close to his side. “Grace here is going to have a bit of lunch with us!”

                “I didn’t even agree yet…” was all she could mutter as Louis dragged her out to hang out with his friends which unfortunately included Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it _is_ happening ha. I bet a lot of you are happy these two are finally interacting again, even though it is a bit awkward at first, but the awkwardness will be over soon.  
>  Anyway, thanks for reading guys! Next update you'll learn a bit more about what happened in the time our two favorites weren't talking to each other, so stay tuned! Thank you again, for all the comments/kudos/subs! Means a lot and I love reading all of your comments. See you next update!


	4. Jealous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the bit of delay in posting this! I really wanted to get it out for you guys yesterday as usual but there was a massive storm that knocked my power/wifi out a few nights ago and they just restored it not too long ago. So here's that update you've been waiting on with more interactions from your two favorites. Happy reading!

                _This can’t get any more awkward._

Grace was sitting at a round table with the members of One Direction in broad daylight at some low-key restaurant that Liam and Louis picked out. She had never been out with all of them at once, but for some reason she had a horrible feeling all of them would be the first thing in the news tomorrow. It was bad for her job, it was bad for Harry’s name after their whole _scandal_ , and it was potentially bad for his new girlfriend.

                _Ugh, why am I even thinking about her?_ Grace narrowed her eyes as she looked at Harry from across the table as he mocked Niall’s accent. She had never met the woman so she couldn’t say if she was a good or bad person, but deep down she felt like she should be the one to be with Harry, not this Natasha chick. When she did see news on Harry and Natasha it never felt like Harry would look at her the way he looked at Grace. Yeah, he held her hand in public and kissed her but he would never have that wide, stupid grin on his face or be playing around with her. He seemed pretty serious when it came to her…?

                _Maybe he wants to marry her?_ Grace snorted to herself as she looked back down at her half eaten plate of food. She didn’t know how fast Harry fell for women, but with the way he threw around the word love carelessly she wouldn’t be surprised if he took some steps in that direction. Then again, he was young… was he even ready to settle down?

                “You done?”

                Liam’s sudden voice shook her from her thoughts as she nodded her head in a yes. “Yeah, I had a big breakfast earlier.” _No I just lost my appetite thinking about Harry. How pathetic…_

“I’ll take _this_ then.” Louis leaned closer to her to pluck one of her pasta noodles off her plate and downed it in one go.

                “You didn’t even ask,” she muttered under her breath as he laughed at her reaction. She shook her head at him, looking up to find Harry was looking at the both of them.

                “It is rude to eat off of other people’s plates,” Liam commented as he squinted his eyes at Louis. “And a bit unsanitary,” he added quietly to himself.

                “Grace here doesn’t mind.” Louis was still laughing as he glanced over at Harry as well. “Anyway,” he sung, dragging out the _way_ in the word as his eyes swept from Harry to Grace. “We all have quite a bit of catching up to do.” He raised his eyebrows at the end of the sentence and she swore it was the hottest thing she’d seen in a while. Had her old crush on Louis really gone away?

_Hold it Grace. Just because Louis is single remember where your heart belongs. But beside that, why is he pushing for all of us to catch up?_ Grace let out a sigh, really wanting to just go back home and get some rest. Everything that had happened today was like pouring salt on a fresh wound. She needed the painful sensations of seeing Harry again to stop.

                “How’s your modeling career? Heard you landed in with the big shots.” Liam stuffed a giant piece of chicken in his mouth as he talked.

                “She looks absolutely _stunning_ ,” Niall blurted out out of nowhere, making everyone fall into silence as they turned to look at him.

                “You’ve been keeping up on it?” Harry’s voice dropped several octaves. He raised his eyebrows at his friend as if almost in a threat. It shocked and slightly embarrassed Grace that Niall was actually looking at her photoshoots, but Harry’s reaction shocked her a bit more. Had he been keeping up with her as well?

                “Don’t even act like you-” Niall started but Harry elbowed him hard in the ribs while Liam and Louis just smirked at each other.

                “Oh woah look at the time!” Louis suddenly said in a loudly, exaggerated voice right in Grace’s ear as he looked at the silver watch on his wrist.

                “Oh bummer we forgot to tell you!” Liam sat his fork down by his plate, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “We had a meeting today, the three of us, with some magazine company.” He nodded at Niall. “We’ll be late if we don’t head out now lads!”

                “What meeting? We’re free for the rest of the day?” Harry frowned in thought as if running his schedule through his mind.

                “ _You_ don’t have one. But the rest of us boys do.”

                “Liam what-” Niall started but Liam raised his eyebrows at him as he stood to his feet and turned away from Grace. The younger man looked genuinely confused but he slowly abided, making her wonder if they really had somewhere to go.

                “We’ll catch you later!” Louis said happily as he patted Grace’s shoulder, the other two men leaving with him like a whirlwind out of the small restaurant.

                _Oh God no this just leaves the two of us…_ A panic set in as she looked across the table at Harry who was looking back at her in turn in confusion. _Were they trying to set us up all along? This can’t be happening…_

“That was weird,” he laughed nervously. She laughed along with him but it quickly faded as more panic began to sink in. _I need to leave_ now _!_

                “So…” Harry said quietly after several minutes of silence. He sucked on his bottom lip, making a smacking sound when he stopped. “How’s life been treating you?”

                “Erm… fine.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat even though he wasn’t even looking at her. _Come on Grace just breathe and relax. You’ve done this with Harry before. There’s no reason to be acting this way in front of him. He’s your friend… well… used to be? Are we still friends?_ “How are you?”

                “Fine as well…” he breathed out of his mouth as he drummed his long fingers on the table. She noticed then he wasn’t wearing the rings he normally wore when they were together, in fact he wasn’t wearing any at all today. _Odd… Harry’s always got his rings on…_ “Tour’s been great and massively fun…” He froze up a bit, shaking his head again before continuing as he stared off into space. “The other three lads and I have really been having fun.”

                Grace knew who he was thinking about but she bit her lip to prevent herself from saying anything. Did the boys still talk to Zayn? _Does he miss his old friend?_

“How’s your job? You doing alright there?” He changed the conversation. Harry was now looking at her from across the table, a distant look still in his eyes. It wasn’t like he was focused on her at all.

                “Yeah I’m fine.” She knew that Harry knew her well enough to know _fine_ meant she wasn’t ok but she didn’t necessarily care. It’s not like he would call her out on it anymore. “Its just long hours on my feet.”

                “You get enough sleep?”

                _Why is he asking me all these questions?_ “Yes Harry I do. I have days off pretty often.” She didn’t mean to sound snappy but she couldn’t help it. She just wanted to go home with the way this conversation was so awkward and stiff between them. She wished she could go back to when they were relaxed around one another, sometimes playful. She never thought they’d end up this way…

                Just as she was trying to think of a way to get out of this Harry dropped the bomb.

                “How’s your new boyfriend? That Chester guy?” He was chewing on his bottom lip, his green eyes finally focusing in on her with an intense expression on his face.

                “We’re not dating.” She shook her head no. Chester’s name and boyfriend didn’t even belong in the same sentence.

                “That’s what you used to say when we were dating.” He laughed a bit but stopped after several seconds as if he was slightly hurt.

                “We aren’t dating. He’s just a coworker,” she repeated, not quite sure herself why she was trying to make sure Harry knew she was single. It wasn’t like he’d date her or anything. “Anyway, how’s your love life? Heard you finally ended up with someone.” She tried to sound perky but she knew she fell flat. She didn’t want to hear about how much Harry liked his new girlfriend or about all the sex they had. She wished she was talking to him about what movie they’d watch later back at his place or even what kind of candles they wanted to buy for the house.

                “Natasha?” Harry raised his eyebrows and looked away, going back to drum his fingers on the table. “Yeah she’s a good girl…” he said quietly, nodding his head. “A good girl…”

                _So descriptive Styles…_ She let out a sigh just wondering how he felt about his new girlfriend. Did he really like her? Was it just casual dating? Did he have future plans? Before she could ask him anything else her phone suddenly began to buzz on the table. She leaned forward to see who it was and all the color could have drained from her face when she saw who it was.

                The caller ID read **_Annoying!_** letting her know exactly who it was. _Chester…_ She inwardly groaned as Harry watched her curiously before saying, “You can answer it you know, I don’t mind.”

                “No it’s fine. It’s no one important.” She flipped the phone over to silence it, wondering why she had such bad luck today. What could Chester possibly want at this time of day?

                “Hmm…” was all Harry said as a waiter came by to start cleaning the table off. “Are you ready to go?” he suddenly asked her.

                “Uhm… yeah.”

                “I’ll have the ticket please,” Harry said to the waiter. “All of us on one ticket.”

                “Harry wait. I can pay for my own-”

                “Same ticket.” He shooed the waiter away, returning to look at Grace’s annoyed face. “What?” he asked in complete innocence.

                “You’ll never let me pay, will you?”

                “Of course not.” He suddenly frowned at her as he leaned forward in his seat. “What? Does Chester make you pay?”

                “Why are you talking about Chester so much? I already told you he’s nothing to me. He’s just a coworker.”

                He shrugged, looking away from her. “If you say so.”

                They fell into an awkward silence again when the waiter brought back the check, Harry handing him his credit card without even looking at the price. _I wonder just how much money he has on that damn thing he doesn’t even need to look at the bill or maybe he’s just being a show off?_

“Alright let’s get you home,” he said quietly after the waiter returned with his card. He stood to his feet, shouldering on his jacket and giving Grace a perfect view of his thighs desperately trying to break free from his tight jeans. He was still perfect in every way…

                Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she was about to argue with him on how she could walk home alone just fine but decided against it. They had nothing but a rocky start to begin with today and she surely didn’t want to end it that way. Maybe she had a chance to start talking to him again? _Nah._

                They walked silently down the street to her apartment for half of the way, Harry’s hands deep in his pockets and Grace clutching her purse to her side as her thoughts went wild. What if they got caught together like this? What if they got mobbed by the paps since they were the most talked about couple of last year?

                Harry suddenly laughed quietly to himself while he looked down at the ground, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Hey… Remember when we used to walk around like this together at night?”

                She nodded her head, suddenly feeling less tense at his laugh. “Yeah. And how your fans would stop us sometimes?”

                “That too.” He looked up at her to give her a small smile before looking away again. “I remember we used to walk down the street like this one and look at all the little shops together. Then we’d eventually come back out and I’d take you to them, buy you some things…” he trailed off, his face falling a bit.

                _Does he miss what we used to do together?_ Grace watched him but shook the idea off. _Nah… he wouldn’t, would he? He wouldn’t have started to date this new girl if he missed me or what we used to do together._

“Anyway, this afternoon’s been fun,” he simply said when they both stopped outside of her apartment. “How’s Happy? He still living?”

                “Of course he’s living!” She frowned at him as he halfway laughed. He’d never leave that dog alone, would he? Trying to still keep it on a positive note she added, “Thanks for this place again Harry… you really didn’t have to.”

                “No I had to. What are friends for?”

                _Friends…_ She wanted to ask him so bad that if they were friends, then why hadn't he bothered to even speak to her in several months, but she left it alone. _No fighting…_

                “But… yeah…” he filled in the awkward air between them. “We should do this again sometime. It was truly great to see you again.”

                “Yeah it was great seeing you too…” She sighed. _Does he really mean this too or is he just lying again to make me happy?_ “But anyway Harry, I've got to take Happy on his walk and get cleaned up. Today’s been really exhausting.”

                He nodded in understanding, letting her almost walk away from him and through the main door before he called after her, “I’ll call you later! Or text you!”

                “Yeah right…” she muttered under her breath as she gave him a thumbs up, the automatic doors opening for her. She just wanted to get as far away from Harry as possible but at the same time, she wanted to always be around him. Could such a contradiction exist?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're all hoping Harry will keep that promise, right?  
> Thanks for reading guys! Next time you'll get to see things through someone else's eyes that we haven't seen in a while, which is always fun! As always, thanks for reading, thanks for the comments/kudos/etc. Means a lot! See you next update!


	5. Mistakes (Harry POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of the week is here! It's a bit short this time around but next update will make up for it. This time you guys will get to see things from possibly your favorite's eyes so enjoy and happy reading!

                Harry opened the door to his condo room, letting out a deep sigh as he kicked it shut behind him before going to remove his jacket. He was about to announce he was back, but realized he would be talking to nothing but empty air. A huge black Labrador greying at the muzzle would not greet him when he came home, whining and whimpering to have a pat on the head as he tried to kick his shoes off. The beautiful girl he came home to everyday wouldn’t be waiting for him on the sofa, perhaps sleep with how long it took for him to finish up work. He’d carry her back to her room like he did once not too long ago, planting a gentle kiss on the side of her mouth but that was nothing but a faded memory. All of that ended months ago.

                He partially hated himself for it as he placed his shoes in the compartment for them, hanging his jacket on one of the wooden hooks right above it. He was so good at conveying his feelings to other women; he knew the ins and outs on how to make his girlfriends happy, but not with this one. He felt like an utter failure when it came to Grace and he hated that feeling.

                He was tired, his shoulders were aching and he wanted nothing but a hot shower after today’s work. He didn’t think he’d be seeing her again, not after everything that happened since she was pretty set on being independent and away from him. It made him feel slightly sad and cold on the inside, like he was nothing.

                He was quick to strip down to nothing but his socks, hanging his jeans and shirt up in his closet but carelessly throwing his other attire on the chair by his work desk. No one would be coming around to see how sloppy he was, they never did.

                He was so lonely with her gone. Even though they did fight a lot it was comforting to have someone around to talk to, to share secrets with eventually and to maybe hold as they sat on the sofa together watching TV.

                “Feels like ages ago…” he muttered to himself as he turned the shower water on, peeling his socks off of his large feet. He didn’t bother tying his hair up this time, he just wanted an entire soap down tonight as he stepped into the warming water.

                He knew it was wrong to pick up Natasha just because he was lonely. She was pretty, she came on to him first, he missed Grace and he needed something to fill that void, but Natasha was no Grace. He knew that from day one, but today only confirmed that more for him. He thought that just maybe if he got with another girl, he’d forget all about Grace and move on with his life.

                But he was terribly, utterly wrong.

                Every time he kissed Natasha he thought of Grace, how soft she was and how her chapstick always tasted like some fruit. Every time he held her hand, he imagined it was Grace again, her warmer hand squeezing his gently as they walked the streets together. He never had sex with Natasha since he felt too guilty, but if he ever did all he would ever think about is if she was Grace and what it would feel like to touch her skin, to have her pull his hair as he teased her nearly to her breaking point, how sexy she’d look riding him… It was all of those thoughts that had him feeling guiltier than ever. Natasha wasn’t an ugly or bad girl, but she was no Grace.

                He knew for a fact there would never ever be a girl like Grace in his life. She was nothing like the girls he was used to dating. He never ever considered dating a fan, heck he wouldn’t still unless it was her. She was something else with how she’d pull his heart strings and always made him want more. He wanted to be the one to always make her smile and to always pick her up when she was down, but he had blown that chance by letting her walk out of his life in the first place and secondly by picking up Natasha.

                _I’m such a bloody idiot…_ _But how does Grace feel about me?_ He just let the warm water hit him as he drowned in his own thoughts, wondering if she would ever like him the way he liked her. If he told her the truth now, would she just laugh in his face or yell at him because he hadn’t told her sooner? But now he was already with someone else; he couldn’t just tell Grace he’s always been in love with her. She just wouldn’t believe him in a million years after she shut him down after he told her once he loved her.

                Harry regretted many things in his life, but his biggest regret was never telling the woman of his dreams how he felt about her before she got away. He had also never been in love before, but he was hoping he would just maybe fall in love sooner or later. He wasn’t sure if this was love, but he knew above everything he wanted Grace back in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Like I said, things may start off a bit slow but things are really going to pick up after this update so get ready for it! This next update contains something some of you might have been waiting on all along :). As always, thanks for reading and thank you for the comments/kudos as well! They're all very much appreciated!


	6. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week! This one contains some scenes you guys might've been waiting on for a long time! Have a great weekend and happy reading!

                Much to Grace’s surprise, Harry kept his word this time around. She received a message from him the night of their lunch date saying how much he enjoyed it again and if she’d like to meet up on the beach to hangout.

            **_On the beach Harry? In spring?_**

**_It’ll be nice! But you know the little amusement park they have on the pier? Are you interested in things like that?_ **

**_Yeah I’d be interested in going…_ **

**_How about two days from now. Are you free?_ **

She could’ve told him no and blew him off but yet she was telling him she was indeed free despite needing to reorganize her portfolio for work. She was always doing something related to work in the majority of her free time, and needed more fun in her life. Besides, things were becoming less tense and awkward as they texted each other in the time between their lunch date and their date on the pier.

                So here she was standing near the entrance to the pier feeling exposed as several people walked back and forth past her. No one had recognized her and she was grateful for that, but what if they recognized Harry when he showed up and started taking pictures? They’d be all over the magazines again and that was something she didn’t want. She knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but she rather have it to be later than sooner.

                _Come on Harry… Are you going to show up?_ She glanced towards the parking lot, trying to see if she could spot his car but she didn’t see either the black SUV or his blue Mercedes he commonly drove around in. _Maybe he got a new car?_ Just as she was about to pull out her phone to text him a pair of hands suddenly covered her eyes from behind.

                “Guess who?” A deep voice whispered behind her head, a slight giggle at the end of the question.

                _This boy…_ “Harry I already know it’s you.” She grabbed his wrists to pull his hands off but he grabbed her hands instead, interlocking their fingers as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

                _What’s with this sudden change in attitude? Weren’t we just sitting at lunch the other day barely able to look at one another?_ “Harry care to explain?” She straight out asked him, feeling a bit odd with the position he was putting her in.

                “I just missed you, that’s all,” he honestly replied, moving his hands down to squeeze her hands gently before letting them go. It was almost like nothing had ever happened between them at all. “You miss me?”

                “Styles enough with the questions.” She felt a blush coming on as she avoided the question and she didn’t want Harry to see it. He might tease her about it and that was the last thing she wanted. _But if you missed me Styles, why did you leave me in the dark for so long?_

                “We’re back at _Styles_ again?” He gave her a wide grin as he came around to face her. He looked amazing today as always in a pair of light blue jeans and a button up yellow shirt, of course the top few buttons undone to where she could see his bird tattoos. “Well _Evergreen_ I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long. Sorry I was late. Ran into a bit of traffic and the shower took me longer than I expected.”

                “It’s _Grace_ ,” she shot back at him, trying not to laugh at his antics. “It’s fine. All that matters is you’re here now.”

                “Alright Grace,” he laughed. “So… shall we?” He held out his hand as if they were at a ball, ready to go dancing together on the huge mansion floor.

                She took it lightly, feeling weird to be holding his hand again while also knowing he had someone else. She had seen it before though, friends holding hands, but with them it could be warped into something completely different by the media. She just didn’t want him to get in trouble.

                “I know there’s not much to do here, it’s not a full amusement park, sorry about that. I just wanted to keep us out of the way of the paps, maybe some younger fans too,” Harry admitted as they walked hand in hand down the pier.

                _Still caring as ever…_ “No it’s fine. I’ll still enjoy it even though it’s not fancy.” She wanted to add in _as long as I’m with you everything’s alright_ but she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. She did like him, but hitting on a taken man was something she’d never do.

                “Maybe I can win you something?” He pointed over to a booth on the opposite side of the pier as they passed by it. Giant stuffed gorillas, smaller cats and dogs, and a few snakes were hanging by a hook on the front of it. It seemed as if the game was to squirt water at a target to see just how high and how fast a person could make a light raise into the air.

                “Oh Harry that’s alright.” She felt his fingers tighten around hers as he led her over to the booth anyway, completely ignoring her words.

                “We’re here to have fun. Relax!” He turned to smile at the man running the booth. “How much for a game?

                “Three dollars.” The older man smiled politely at Grace and then at Harry. A look of recognition seemed to pass over his face, but the older man didn’t say a word. He just smiled even more, his eyes crinkling at the edges from both age and his smile.

                “Wow pricey,” Harry laughed, pulling the same old, beat-up leather wallet from his pocket. “What do I have to do?”

                “Shoot water at the target and get that light to go up as high as you can. Up to 2000 you get a small prize, up to 3000 you get a medium prize, and up to 5000 you get the grand prize.”

                “That’s not too bad.” Harry turned to smile at Grace as he pulled three crisp one’s out of his wallet. “You have faith in me that I can do it?”

                _Why is he being such a cornball today…_ “Yeah sure Harry.”

                “The lady doesn’t sound very impressed,” the man laughed at them both, gesturing for Harry to sit down at the red stool in front of the booth after he paid him the three dollars. “Today’s a nice day for a date isn’t it?”

                “It is,” Harry said before Grace could insist they weren’t on a date. Friends didn’t go on dates, they hung out. What was Harry going on about?

                It only took a few moments for Harry to line his watergun up and start blasting away. Grace didn’t expect him to be so good at it, but just before the time was up he somehow hit the 4500 mark.

                “Ah so close too!” The man running the booth said, laughing as Harry stood up from the stool. “Anyway, pick one of the medium prizes hanging above.”

                “Which one do you want Gracie? They have cats… and dogs…” Harry trailed off as he looked up at the prizes. He pointed to a black stuffed dog with its tongue sticking out. “That one looks like your dog doesn’t it?”

“Yeah it does.” Grace laughed as Harry stood up on tip-toe to retrieve it from the hook it was on. He turned to her, handing it to her with a proud smile on his face. It sent chills down her spine to hear him call her by her old nickname, but she did not forget to thank him. “Thanks Harry.”

                “God aren’t you two cute,” the man said almost to himself as he watched them both. “I remember when my wife and I would come out and do stuff like this together right before I decided to marry her. We both had that look in our eyes.”

                Grace gave him a smile, not quite knowing what to say. It wasn’t like she and Harry were getting married, heck, they weren’t even dating but if this man thought so she’d let him think it. And what look in their eyes?

                “So what do you want to do now?” Harry asked as he waved the man goodbye, leading Grace deeper into the mini amusement park. He didn’t try to hold her hand this time but he was walking at an uncomfortably close distance.

                “Hmm…” she looked around, noticing not much was left besides food stands and more mini games. There was a roller coaster up ahead and then the Ferris wheel they had seen from the last time they were on the beach. “How about the Ferris wheel? We can look out over the city, maybe you could get some good pictures on your phone.”

                “I’m so glad you didn’t say the roller coaster,” he breathed out with a nervous laugh, scratching behind his ear before he tucked several strands of his hair behind it. “It’s a bit embarrassing but I just… I don’t do roller coasters.”

                “It’s not embarrassing.” She clutched her stuffed animal under her arm as they approached the line for the Ferris wheel. She didn’t think a guy like Harry would be scared of rollercoasters, but she didn’t dare say it to his face.

                “I would’ve still rode it for you though,” he added quietly, giving her a wink.

                “Oh Harry stop.” She couldn’t help but laugh at him. His sudden change in mood was… peculiar but she liked him upbeat and happy compared to how awkward they were together last time. In all honestly, she didn’t see them doing anything like this ever again but somehow Harry had pulled through.

                They made small talk as they waited to be seated in the Ferris wheel, still trying to catch up on each other’s lives when they hadn’t been talking. Harry had admitted she was an amazing model and she told him she loved the boys’ new album.

                “Still a fan?” Harry laughed as they stepped into their car, letting the man pull the bar down across the front, just barely missing his knees. Luckily they were the second to last to be seated, so they’d be off soon.

                “Yeah always.” She watched her stuffed dog sitting in the cubby by the ride exit, hoping no one would steal it before turning back to him. It was then she noticed they were sitting closer than she thought, his knee sometimes hitting hers.

                They fell into a silence for the first time they were there together, watching the world turn around them as the ride started. It was peaceful like this, letting Grace collect her thoughts on the day so far. Just a week ago she would secretly wish to herself she could do things like this with Harry, and here it was happening. She never saw it coming, and she was a hundred percent sure she never would have.

                _I wonder what made him change his mind and decide to come out with me today?_ She glanced over at him when she noticed he was looking in the opposite direction, allowing her to admire the way the setting sun brought out the shadows under his jawline and chin. It looked like he had just shaven, his tan skin only dotted with the occasional old acne scar or the stray mole by his lip. She moved her gaze down lower, admiring the smooth expanse of his neck, also lined with an old scar, mole or blotch every now and then. She wanted to do nothing in this moment but to lean over and rest her head on his shoulder. Did he still smell like peppermints and a mix of honey? Was he still so warm, soft and comforting like the few times they had sat close together on his sofa? She knew it was out of bounds, but in the past they had done a lot of things out of bounds… If she could just…

                “It’s really pretty out tonight isn’t it,” Harry whispered through her thoughts as he turned to look at her. His expression was soft, gentle, as if he was completely enjoying the beauty of the outside world. If he noticed she was checking him out in the few seconds it took him to turn around, he didn’t seem to mind.

                “Yeah it is…” she said quietly as well, wanting to turn away from him but she just couldn’t. She almost said _yeah you are too_ but caught herself. _Come on Grace. Harry’s already taken and you can’t say these kinds of things to him anymore, even if you are both friends._

He gave her a small smile, almost as if he was blushing as he turned away from her to look at his shoes. The Ferris wheel then came to a jerky stop, leaving them at the apex of the wheel.

                “We’ve got the best view!” Harry suddenly shouted excitedly, leaning over the edge of the open car on his side to look down and out.

                “Harry be careful!” She instinctively reached out for him as he leaned over too far, causing the car to rock over to the side. Last thing she needed was him to fall to his death.

                “Relax! It’s alright!” He turned back to her, their noses almost bumping at how close he was. They stayed frozen in that moment, Grace’s mind completely going blank for a few seconds as she got caught up in his eyes.

                Some time ago, Harry might have leaned in to kiss her, his lips perfectly molding against hers in a gentle kiss. She would say she wanted it to happen now, with the way his eyes went from hers then down to linger on her lips. She wanted him to take her breath away like he did back in his car, to completely surprise her with the fact he was still an amazing kisser.

                She could have leaned in too like she did on the beach, bringing her hands up to tangle her fingers in his long, curly hair. He liked when she played in his hair the few times she did and it might’ve made him even more excited as he in turn would ghost his fingers along her side before cupping her cheeks with both hands.

                But she couldn’t kiss him, not at this time, maybe never. He blinked at her, a look of what she thought was disappointment as she turned away from him. She couldn’t kiss a man that belonged to another woman, no matter how much she believed they should be together instead.

                The rest of the ride was quiet, the air of awkwardness returning between them again. Harry helped her out of the car when it was their turn to get out after the ride ended, simply reminding her to not forget about the stuffed dog he had won her at the game booth on their way out.

                “You hungry?” he asked quietly as they walked back up the pier to go back home. She hated how his good mood seemed to have left thanks to the scene in the Ferris wheel. Would things have been different if she kissed him? Would he still be in a good mood or mad at her for kissing him?

                _Well at least he’d know you liked him. Way to go Grace on missing out on your chance._ “Nah. I have some leftovers from the other night I’ll have for dinner.”

                “You should come over my place. I’m cooking tonight actually.”

                Her mouth began to water just thinking about Harry’s cooking. He wasn’t some amazing, culinary artist, but he did have skills when it came to certain foods. “Won’t I just interrupt you and your girlfriend?” she asked, actually hoping he’d say no.

                “No.” He shook his head while frowning. “We don’t live together. You’re always welcome to come over, whether she’s there or not.” He looked over at her, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. “I mean that.”

                She nodded, finding his sudden serious tone a bit intimidating. _It almost sounds like he rather have me over his house than Natasha?_

                “So you coming over or no?” He asked when they got to the parking lot. His expression was completely unreadable as he leaned on a parking meter where the pavement met the sidewalk.

                _What do I say?_ Grace frowned to herself. She _did_ want to go over Harry’s place, she really did. Maybe they could rekindle their friendship and possibly, maybe, she could convey her feelings to him in one way or another?

                “Yeah. I’ll be over.” She decided to be true to herself for once as she pulled her car keys out of her purse after some searching. “Same address?” She looked up at him finally, finding a slight twinkle in his eyes.

                “Yeah. Same.” He scratched at his nose as if to hide his smile, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. “I’ll see you in a few then.” He reached up to give her hair a familiar ruffle before heading off to his car.

                _God what are we doing…_ Was all she could think before walking towards her car as well, her stuffed animal still under her arm. Where would this night take them exactly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So where will the night take our two favorites? :) Find out what happens next in the next update! I have a feeling it's going to be something some of you guys will really like, possibly maybe never expected.  
> As always, thank you for reading and thank you for the comments/kudos! Always means a lot to me!


	7. Stay With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of the week is here! In this update things get _pushed_ a bit out of bounds, and I know for some of you it's been half of what you've been waiting on all along. Happy reading!!

                Harry’s place hadn’t changed at all since Grace had last been there. The same black sofa sat across from the huge flat screen HD TV in his living room, his same everyday shoes lined their appropriate spots by his door and his familiar light jackets hung above them as usual. It almost felt like coming home. It was a strange feeling, but she couldn’t say she didn’t like it.

                “Why are you staring off into space like that? Stay a while,” Harry laughed as he stood by the kitchen counter separating the living room from his eating area in a set of his pajamas. His good mood seemed to have come back, and Grace couldn’t be any happier.

                She took her shoes off by the door, halfway expecting Happy to come greet her, but the big dog was back at her place probably wondering when she was coming back home to play with him and give him his next meal. She took her light spring jacket off as well, finding Harry’s condo to be quite warm, or perhaps it was just because it was from her overthinking the fact she was alone with Harry again in his place.

                “Anything you need me to help you with?” she asked him when she noticed he had wandered off into his kitchen to prepare whatever food he would cook for the night.

                “No actually… Well, if you want to help that’s fine but I don’t need anything special.” He pulled a familiar white and green striped apron over his head before pulling his curly hair into a ponytail with a hair tie he had around his wrist. “You can just relax. You seemed a bit tired today.”

                _God he can still read me like a book._ She nodded at him, sitting down on his sofa for the first time in a long time. She tried not to be creepy, but she couldn’t help but feel refreshed by the scent of both leather and Harry’s familiar scent always lingering on the comfortable material. She could simply lay here all day if she was allowed to.

                “How’s that company treating you?” Harry asked after a moment of silence. Grace felt herself falling asleep and she was grateful for Harry’s gentle yet deep voice to wake her up.

                “They’re all right.” She sat up to prevent herself from falling asleep. “I’m planning on switching soon, but they’re ok for now. How’s yours?”

                “Bossier than ever.” It sounded like his voice was projecting against his kitchen wall so she turned to look at him. With his hair pulled up and out of the way she could catch the outline of his small yet strong shoulders and his shoulder blades. He was still the tall, lanky man she left six months ago, but he seemed to be working out quite a bit more with the way his biceps flexed as he turned something over in the pan he was cooking in.  _But now that I'm looking at him, don't his shoulders seem to be a bit broader than last year?_ “I’m just like you, tired more than anything. Told you this kind of life was hard,” he laughed to himself a bit, but it was almost like a sad laugh.

                “You still love your job though, right?” She rested her chin on the back of the sofa, trying to focus on his words.

                “Yeah! Of course! Everything has its drawbacks but I’ve always wanted to be a singer. On top of that, our group means so much more to little girls these days… It’s mindblowing you know?”

                She nodded even though she knew he couldn’t see. Hearing him talk about his life like this was so refreshing, but she couldn’t help but to be concerned. He wasn’t being worked too hard, was he?

                “Never thought we’d be this big…” He blew out of his mouth. “But yeah anyway, enough about me. Dinner’s ready!” He turned to face her, the smile back on his face again. “I’ll fix your plate and everything... just pull up a seat at our usual spot.”

                _Usual spot…_ She couldn’t help but smile as she headed over to the set of wooden chairs and kitchen table for two. “Harry you’re doing too much,” she said as he placed the plate of food in front of her. Chicken Parmesan! Her favorite! But where had he learned to cook like this?

                “I’m not though.” He chuckled as he sat down across from her with his plate of food. “You deserve it.”

                “You deserve some things as well.” She couldn’t help but think back to how he had been treated when they first split: like he was nothing and some type of garbage. Most of his fans were loyal as ever, but being torn apart by the media had to affect him in some way. He deserved every ounce of love and gratification he could come by.

                He shrugged, digging right into dinner like a hungry wolf. “ _We_ deserve it,” he said with his mouth half full. He suddenly held up his water glass in a toast. “To us!” he said dramatically. “To the Girl Almighty!”

                “To the Girl Almighty and us,” Grace couldn’t help but laugh at their old joke, clinking her water glass to his. He took a gigantic gulp of it as if he was an exhausted racehorse, wiping his mouth off with a napkin afterwards. He hadn’t changed at all…

                They ate in silence for the next few minutes, Grace still caught up in how good his cooking was. He hadn’t burned it this time, the texture was amazing, and he had gotten the cheese and pasta sauce just right. Maybe he was taking cooking lessons?

                “Don’t hurt yourself,” he laughed from the other side of the table as he watched her eat.

                “This is amazing though Harry!”

                “Please. It’s just… me cooking.” He blushed a bit, fanning her off as he played with a stray piece of cheese left behind on his plate. “I’m not that great. You’re the true star here. I still remember that seafood dish you made for us both. _That_ was great and I don’t even like seafood that much.”

                “Aw Harry come on. You’re giving me too much credit.” She wiped her mouth off and took a drink of her water to keep her from blushing as well. “Anyway, this is really great tonight.”

                “Thanks.” He looked at her from over the table, a slight smile on his face. He was really cute right then with his hair back down, his curls falling gently along the side of his face and shoulders. She could really pick out the hidden blues and yellows in his eyes right at that moment too, making him look even more handsome in the artificial light of his kitchen. “It’s just…” he cleared his throat. “I don’t know it’s just I wanted to make it up to you. I’m sorry about not talking to you for so long. I could blame it on the tour, I could blame it on a lot of things but… yeah… I’m sorry.”

                She blinked at him, finishing her last piece of his delicious dinner. Was he seriously coming clean to her? “You’ve been busy Harry. It’s ok-”

                “No it’s not.” He placed his crumpled up dirty napkin on his plate. “I can always make time for you, you knew that back when we were closer.” He drummed his long fingers against the light wood of his kitchen table. “Totally my fault on this one. I apologize.”

                _It’s ok though… We’re talking now…_ “It’s alright. We talk more now so it’s ok,” she voiced her thoughts, not wanting him to feel bad. Yeah she had been really upset at him for dropping her off the face of the earth but at least he was coming back around now, right?

                He shrugged. “Yeah I guess.” He seemed to be bothered by something but shook it off, offering to take her plate and wash it. She tried to talk him out of it, saying he had already done enough but he was persistent in not letting her help him out. She returned back to the sofa wondering if it was ok for her to go back home now even though she didn’t want to leave. It was getting late and even though she had tomorrow off, she had no idea how Harry’s schedule was now.

                “So you want to watch a movie or something?” He asked, coming to sit down beside her on the sofa.

                “Don’t you have work tomorrow?” she tried, wondering why he wanted her to stay over so long. He had a girlfriend, why didn’t he just ask her to come over?

                “We have another day of break before our next few days of concerts. It’s fine really.”

                _If you insist…_ “I’m scared I might fall asleep if we watch a movie together,” she laughed to herself.

                “Yeah me too.” He scratched at the side of his mouth. “I have some old games we used to play together back in my room. We could play those if you like?”

                “Sure,” she agreed to satisfy him, as well as herself, as he led her to his room. She really did want to spend as much time with him as possible, but yet she was nervous to be going in his room. She’d only been in once when he had burned himself. Was it really ok?

                Harry pulled out a deck of cards, asking her if she knew how to play a few games as they sat on his bed together. After settling on one game, they played for what seemed like a few minutes, when in reality it was hours. Harry had her cracking up on how he insisted his rules weren’t cheating when he wasn’t winning.

                “This is just like when we played rock paper scissors earlier and you cheated on how fire wins so you could go first!”

                “It is _not_! Fire is a legitimate play!” He laughed to himself, choking on his own spit which had her laughing again.

                “Since when?”

                “Since now!” He threw his last card down on their Speed pile, still laughing to himself. “Speed!”

                “Harry that was cheating!”

                “Was not!”

                “Was too!”

                “Prove it!”

                She shook her head at him, feeling like she was talking to a kid with how he was going back and forth which just caused him to laugh more. He was truly happy tonight, wasn’t he?

                They played a few more games before they were both yawning, their eyes tearing from laughter and lack of sleep. _It’s getting late…_ Grace glanced over at his clock by the bed, realizing it was going on midnight. Just how long had they been going at it?

                “I’m beat.” Harry laid down on his side in his bed after he put the cards away in their box, putting them on his bedside table. “You sure know how to play a mean game of cards.”

                “Well if you weren’t cheating I wouldn’t have to get so serious!”

                Harry smirked at her, playing with the stitching on his bedspread before letting out a huge yawn. “For fuck’s sake,” he muttered under his breath.

                “Watch your mouth Styles.” She frowned at him and he frowned back.

                “ _Harry_. Why are we going back to this again?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “You still want my last name?”

                “That still belongs to whoever you decide to fall in love with!”

                “You’d be surprised.” He whistled to himself, looking away from her. “Anyway, how’s Mum and Dad?”

                She gave him a questioning look when he spoke about her parents in that way. It was a bit odd but yet welcoming? “They’re alright. Dad is still a bit pissed but Mom is ok. She was kind of sad.”

                “You never told them the truth huh?” Harry watched her as she laid down next to him, finding herself getting sleepier than ever.

                She shook her head no, making sure to pull her top down to prevent showing Harry all her goods. “I think they’d be pretty disappointed if they figured out what we were actually doing. I just couldn’t.”

                He nodded his head in understanding. “Yeah… It was all weird wasn’t it?”

                “It was… we did a good job though.” She blinked, wiping at her eyes as they watered. _I’m soooo tired._

                “Do you think… you ever think about if we were real? If we weren’t faking?” he asked quietly, burying his head deeper into his plush pillow.

                She shrugged, answering honestly. “Sometimes. I have no idea if we’d work out though.”

                “Yeah…” He fell into silence, seeming to go off into his own world. Did he want to make what they had real or was it just her wishful thinking?

                “Do you?” she asked quietly, curious of his answer.

                “Sometimes,” he echoed her answer from earlier. His eyes blinked sleepily and he looked like he wanted to say more, but changed his mind as he muttered about something under his breath. “I know we make a great team though. As friends.” He gave her a shy smile.

                She nodded in agreement. “That we do.”

                “I love how I can talk to you about almost anything…” he trailed off. “Some things I can’t even talk to the other lads about. I really am grateful to have bumped into you last year. Funny isn’t it?”

                “Yeah. I feel the same.” She gave him a small smile, hating how short her answer was but she couldn’t help but to feel a bit hurt. Was Harry still just wanting to be friends?

                They fell into a hush after her words, Harry playing with his bedspread again and Grace trying to fight sleep. When she couldn’t take it anymore she whispered, “Ah Harry I’m falling asleep. I’ve got to get back home.”

                “Don’t go,” he said quietly as she sat up straight to leave. “You can spend the night here.”

                “In what clothes?” She almost wanted to laugh at him. He was joking right? She couldn’t just spend the night with him like this anymore. They had two separate lives now.

                “You can borrow some of mine, I don’t care. Just… please stay?”

                She stared at him curiously, wondering just why he wanted her to stay. Did he have something important to tell her or was he trying to two-time his girlfriend?

                “Please,” he repeated again, not even bothering to give her puppy dog eyes. It was almost as if he was desperate for her to stay.

                “Just… Harry…” She shook her head in defeat. She couldn’t turn him down with how he was begging her to stay. She just wanted to know why he wanted her to stay so badly.

                “I just need you to stay with me right now,” he said honestly, as if almost reading her thoughts. “It has to be you,” he added quietly while he propped himself up on his elbows. “Please Gracie.”

                She nodded her head at him and as if in dismissal he went to go retrieve some of his smaller sized clothing. She went to go get changed in the guest bedroom, finding he hadn’t changed much about it since she left. She missed this room more than she wanted to admit, but now was not the time to ponder on it.

                She returned to Harry’s bed in a pair of his old basketball shorts and an old One Direction T-Shirt he had for some reason from 2013. He was already curled up on one side, seeming to be sleeping peacefully but he opened his eyes as soon as she crawled in bed next to him.

                “Harry, is everything alright?” she asked quietly in the dimness of his room. _There has to be a reason he wants me to stay the night, right?_

                He was quiet for a moment, not meeting her eyes. “I… I haven’t been handling it well after Zayn left,” he admitted quietly, almost as if he was embarrassed. “The other guys seemed to have gotten over it but I haven’t.”

                She couldn’t help but to frown in sympathy at him. He and Zayn had been friends for what, six years? It had to be hard to lose someone he was so close to… She wouldn’t ask for details unless he told her so she simply reached out to him, pushing his soft brown hair out of his face gently. “It’s alright to feel that way Harry. I think we were all hurt when he left.”

                “I feel like he let us all down.” His voice was still barely above a whisper. “He has a right to choose what he wants to do in life but… he just left in the middle of our tour? It’s been _so_ stressful Gracie... you wouldn’t understand.”

                “I get the gist of it.” She kept watching his face as he scrunched his nose up cutely, twitching it as if it was itching. “You’ll be alright though, the other boys will be alright, and Zayn will be alright. Everything will be just fine, it has been up to this point.”

                “Yeah you’re right…” He finally met her eyes, a small smile forming on his cute, pink lips. She wanted to kiss him so bad again… to be pulled against his chest and have him to make love to her until neither one of them could walk tomorrow…

                _Where are my thoughts going?_ She blinked slowly, trying to calm her thoughts. “Just get some rest Harry, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

                He nodded at her, letting out a small sigh. “You too.” He playfully reached out, flicking his fingers across her cheek. “Sorry to make you stay here and talk to me about this-”

                “It’s what friends are for.” She gave him a weak smile, wanting to be more than just that to him. She felt like she was more than that to him… but yet they both still couldn’t make the connection. “I’ll always be here to listen to you Harry.”

                He nodded again as if he knew that was true above anything. “Well… Goodnight Gracie.” He turned the lamp off by his bed, plunging them into complete darkness. Grace felt all the hairs stand up on end on her body as she went into panic. She and Harry were in the same bed, in the dark, sleeping so close to one another. This couldn’t be right!

                “Night Harry.” She tried to steady her breathing and relax but the feeling of him scooting closer to her in bed just made her even more nervous and anxious.

                “Relax. You’re with me,” he whispered against the shell of her ear. She felt his lips ghost over her forehead as he pulled her to his chest, bringing one arm around her waist to pull her even closer.

                Grace knew one thing for sure, if Harry was still trying to pull the friend card this was anything but what friends would do. She had guy friends before but they did not cuddle in bed together like this, but yet again she and Harry’s relationship had dipped in on the deeper side of things unlike her other friendships. They shared an odd bond thanks to how they met and how fast their relationship had developed, but were they really ok doing this together?

                She couldn’t help but let sleep over take her no matter how weird she felt about this. Despite that feeling, Harry was warm and soft as always, his touch as gentle as ever. She didn’t want to leave his arms and surprisingly, she could get used to this feeling of being held by him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were you guys expecting that, ha? Next update will be a really fun one as well, so anticipate it! As always, thanks for reading, thanks for the comments/kudos subs as well! They always mean a lot! See you next update; it's going to be a blast!


	8. Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week is here and this time it's a pretty darn long one, but what's a better way to kick off the weekend than to start it with this? Happy reading guys!

                The buzzing of Harry’s phone and his gentle snoring right above her head woke Grace up the next morning. Unlike the first time she fell asleep with him, she wasn’t mortified or freaking out at their closeness. Harry had held her all night long and the feeling was so comforting she didn’t want it to stop.

                “Mmm…” Harry breathed against her hair, shifting his position just a bit as his phone continued to go off against the wood of his bedside table.

                “Harry, your phone’s ringing,” Grace’s voice was barely above a whisper as she raised her head just a bit to look at him.

                “Yeah? So?” he mumbled, his fingers gently feeling her back with his eyes still closed. “It can wait… Just let it ring; it’ll stop soon.”

                She let out a sigh, knowing that this was Harry’s work phone so it meant business. Untangling her legs from his hairy ones, she slowly wiggled out of his grip to reach over him to answer the phone. “Hello?”

                “Yeah Ha-… Grace?” Liam’s voice on the other end of the line sounded genuinely surprised. “Is that… Oh…” He trailed off again and she could just imagine him smirking to himself.

                “It’s not what you think!” she whispered harshly into the line, still trying not to disturb Harry. “We were just talking about some things.”

                “Yeah _talking_ with your bodies.” Liam chuckled, but before Grace could defend herself he continued, “I’m guessing he’s still sleep?”

                She nodded but then checked herself, realizing Liam couldn’t see her. “Yeah. He is.” She glanced over her shoulder at Harry’s half sleeping form.

                “Well I’m sorry to interrupt you guys, but remind him we need to be at the airport tomorrow morning by 5:00 AM. Not 5:30, not even 5:15 but 5:00 on the dot.”

                Her heart could have sunk at those words. The boys were flying out again for another concert already? She didn’t want them or Harry to leave yet. _Well Harry did say he only had one more day to take a break…_ She tried not to sound sad as she said, “Alright. I’ll tell him.”

                “Thanks. Now have fun! But be safe. Harry’s got some condoms around there somewhere-”

                “Liam!” she shouted too loudly, making Harry grunt at her in annoyance. “Sorry,” she mouthed as he turned to face her, a frown on his face.

                “Alright bye Grace!” Liam laughed over the line before ending the call.

                “This man…” she sighed to herself, bringing the phone away from her ear and placing it back down on the table gently.

                “Don’t even tell me what it was about,” Harry muttered, motioning for her to return to her spot in the bed. “Just come lay back down with me.”

                She narrowed her eyes at him skeptically, just wondering what he was trying to pull still. It never left her mind on how he should be doing this with his girlfriend despite the relationship she and Harry shared. They hadn’t done anything sexual last night, they wouldn’t this morning, but she still didn’t feel right being here with him like this.

                “Harry…” she started but stopped herself. It wasn’t any of her business what he did with his girlfriend or what they did in their relationship. Not once had he brought up Natasha to her so she wouldn’t press the issue, but she couldn’t help but wonder how close they actually were. “It’s nothing, never mind,” she said quietly in a low voice as he looked curiously at her.

                “No, what was it?” He yawned loudly as she laid down beside him at a safer distance. He didn’t put his arm around her this time, but the distance between them was still minimal.

                “It’s just…” She sighed. She didn’t want to get into a fight with Harry just now so she had to pick her words carefully. “You don’t feel wrong doing this?”

                “Doing what?” He raised his eyebrows in consideration. “We didn’t fuck last night or anything. We haven’t done anything wrong if that’s what you’re thinking.” A small smirk began to form on his lips when she began to blush. “What? Did you have that in mind or something?”

                “God no Harry!” she squeaked out, making him laugh. Why did he have to be this embarrassing?

                “Then don’t worry about it.” He ruffled her bed hair gently, bringing his hand down to brush her cheek briefly. He then began to smile at her. “You know… you still are something else.”

                “And you’re still as bossy as ever.” She grabbed his hand to push it away but he held onto her, interlocking his fingers with hers.

                “I missed you.” The words barely got past his lips but Grace heard it loud and clear. “I meant it when I told you that yesterday.”

                “I missed you too,” she said back after a while, blinking slowly. _Just how much did you miss me though Harry?_

“Are you free today?” He kept his voice even and level just like he had before.

                She nodded, slightly mesmerized by his green eyes gazing at her like she was everything to him. It was an odd feeling; he’d never looked at her like this before.

                “Good. I want to hang out with you today. Just you and I… if that’s alright with you?” He looked at her questioningly.

                With the way he was looking at her she couldn’t possibly say no. Besides she had missed him too much. “Yeah that’s always fine.” She smiled back at him when his lips pulled into a gentle smile as he squeezed her hand. “Let’s just get cleaned up for the day first.”

                “Of course.” Harry seemed to perk up as he sat up in bed, some stray strands of his hair falling out of the little bun he had made sometime during the night.

                _Is it just me or does it seem like Harry may be interested in me more than he’s telling me?_ She was barely listening to him ramble off on how he had a spare toothbrush and joking on how they could take a shower together. All she could think about was now would be a great time to tell him how she really felt but what about Natasha?

* * *

 

                _Now would be a great time to talk to Zayn_ , was all Grace could think as she and Harry went through their day together. He insisted on cooking for her again that morning before they spent several hours sitting around the house together talking about this and that. They headed out later in the day when Grace demanded she had to go back home to check in on Happy.

                “You think he’ll still remember me?” Harry asked as they walked up the stairs to her apartment with his hands deep in his pockets while he stared down at the floor.

                “Of course.” She went to unlock her door, realizing this would be the second time Harry would be over. The last time he was here he had told her he loved her…

                She still thought it was nonsense to this day as she pushed the door of her apartment open to be greeted by her loyal companion. Harry? Loving her? Ridiculous! He’d just said it because of the moment they were in, not because he really meant it.

                “Could you take him out for his bathroom break Harry and walk him around a bit? I’ve got to get changed into some other clothes.” She hurried to grab Happy’s leash before Harry could even agree or disagree. She just needed a bit of alone time to herself to think everything through since her date with him last night.

                _It was an official date right? He held my hand, he was so happy to be with me… We weren’t under our faking contract courtesy of Mr. Payne…_ She let out a huge sigh when Harry left with her dog, actually being nice this time around. She closed the door behind them since she had given Harry the key to get back in, finally granting herself all the privacy she could want for a while.

                “This is crazy…” she muttered to herself as she went to her room to find a fresh change of clothes for the day. She had already taken a shower over Harry’s place and simply slipped into another pair of his older clothes he no longer wore or cared about.

                _How can I tell him?_ She cleared her throat, looking in the mirror at herself after she put on another bra and undershirt. “Harry… I’ve always liked you since I kissed you on the beach. That wasn’t a fake kiss. I meant it…

                “That sounds so lame.” She rolled her eyes in frustration as she opened her closet to find a top for the day. _How would Harry even react if I told him this? Would he be happy? Would he just play along with me and cheat on his girlfriend? Or would he laugh at me and say I’ve gotten way over my head?_ There seemed to be more bad reactions than good ones the more she thought about it. Was this such a good idea to tell Harry how she felt about him? Should she wait until he broke up with his girlfriend now? What if they never broke up?

                _Harry doesn’t even talk about her and he wanted to sleep with me last night over her. That counts as something._ She decided on a shirt to wear, finding a nice button up sweater to match and a pair of light blue jeans. _But what if Harry just sees me as his confidant and doesn’t want anything more?_

_You don’t sleep with and kiss people you don’t like_. She quickly got dressed, barely deciphering her thoughts before Harry returned with Happy. She shouted at him to wait just a minute from her room as she pulled on her underwear, deciding that by the end of today she would tell him how she felt no matter what. They simply couldn’t continue like this.

                “God what is taking you so long?” Harry rapped his knuckles on her door suddenly, slightly scaring her.

                “Give me time Harry!” She yelled at him through the door, realizing she was just standing in her shirt and panties. If he opened that door…

                “That’s what women _always_ say. You guys take _forever_ to get ready.” He began pushing her door open and everything that happened next seemed to move in slow motion to Grace.

                The sound of the doorknob turning sent a complete chill down her spine, alerting her that Harry indeed was going to come in with her. What possessed him to do these types of things, she had no idea, but she was not fast enough to prevent him from sticking his head in.

                “Come on! Where I want to take you is going to close in-” He stopped talking when he saw what state she was in, scrambling to grab his old shirt to cover her panties. “I’m sorry... I didn’t-”

                “Just stop looking!” she shouted at him, making him advert his eyes. She had seen Harry shirtless plenty of times before; she had even seen him in his underwear and had almost touched his junk, but when it came to Harry seeing her this way she couldn’t help but feel a bit vulnerable. He had an amazing body thanks to his workout routine, but she on the other hand was nothing impressive. She probably wasn’t even his type…

                “Uhm well I’ll just wait out here with the dog… Just come on out when you’re ready,” he said awkwardly as he slipped out of the small gap he had made in the door for his head, closing the door quietly behind him.

                She groaned as soon as he left in embarrassment, tossing his old shirt back on her bed and pulling her jeans on. Grace thought the first time Harry would ever see her in anything less than her normal attire would maybe be in bed if they ever got to that stage, not an accidental walk in. She was hoping the day wouldn’t turn weird as she checked herself out in the mirror one last time before heading out into the living room with him.

                “I’m sorry about walking in on you like that,” Harry immediately apologized as soon as she was in the room with him. Happy was lying on the sofa with him, tail going what seemed like a hundred miles per hour in joy with Harry rubbing his head and neck.

                “It was an accident…” she muttered, hoping that was true. He knew she was changing, so he could have just barged in to get a peek, but Harry didn’t seem like that kind of guy. If he wanted to do anything he would have done it last night when he had her all alone in bed.

                “Well… yeah. Still sorry.” He let out a breath as he stopped petting Happy, making the big dog nudge his hand as he placed it by his side. “Anyway…” he sung out the _way_ in the word. “You do have nice legs.”

                “Harry!” She could feel herself turning the deepest shade of red she ever felt in both embarrassment and in a blush. _He’s actually complimenting me?_

“Well it’s the truth!” He stood up from the sofa, not meeting her eyes.

                “Stop being embarrassing Harry.” She shook her head at him, heading towards the door to make sure she had everything in her purse.

                “It’s not embarrassing if it’s true.” He was going to continue his next sentence, but his phone began to ring and vibrate in his pocket. He let out a sigh, holding up one finger in the wait gesture before pulling his phone out. He immediately frowned at who it was, answering it right in front of Grace.

                “Yeah hey?” He furrowed his eyebrows more as whoever was on the other line continued to talk. Was it an emergency? Was it Liam calling to tell him off? “Uhm no, why?... Well I’m kind of busy right now so of course I’m out of the house… Look, Natasha can we do this another time?”

                Grace frowned at her name, wondering what she wanted. She had a right to call Harry, it was her boyfriend, but hearing her name just made her skin crawl. By the way Harry was reacting to her, it only made her slightly dislike her more.

                “Fuck, Natasha I’m a busy man! We already established this…” He looked over at Grace to give her an apologetic look. “Alright… what time? I can’t do today I already told you that… Fine… Ok… Whatever… I’ll swing over a little past ten. Yeah... See you then. Bye.” Harry hung up his call, letting out a sigh of relief. “Sorry about that,” he apologized, seeming to turn his phone volume all the way on silent before sliding it back into his pocket.

                “No it’s fine. You have to take care of your girlfriend.” Grace gave him a fake smile, knowing it hurt to say it. “Do you have to head out with her?”

                “God no.” Harry shook his head, running his fingers through his hair in irritation. He made a motion of wanting Grace to follow him as they started to leave her apartment. “I don’t… Listen Gracie I’m only telling you this but she’s so grating on the nerves sometimes. _Always_ wanting to see me, _Harry buy me this! Harry buy me that!_ _Harry I don’t like what you bought me take it back!_ She’s a fucking pain in the ass.”

                She raised her eyebrows at his mini rant as he closed the door behind them both and locked it. _Sounds like he doesn’t like her?_ “If you’re dating though, isn’t it normal to want to be around one another?”

                “Yeah but Gracie she’s crazy! We have our ups and downs… I don’t know I guess this is our down point.” He then shook his head but before Grace could say anything else he continued.

                “I’m sorry I shouldn’t drag you into this.” He turned to face her, looking worn out. “It’s just… I don’t know… you’re the person I go to to talk to about just… anything.” He threw his arm over her shoulder as they walked down the hall together, slightly pressing his cheek against the top of her head. “Just thanks for always listening and being there for me.”

                She didn’t know how to quite respond to him so she simply nodded, his familiar scent wafting over her. If Harry didn’t like Natasha that much, why didn’t he just dump her? She knew it was none of her business to intervene, but Harry seemed really annoyed by her and possibly like he was being used for his money. As a friend without thinking of her own benefit, wouldn’t it be ok to tell him to dump her?

* * *

 

                Harry wasn’t as chipper as he was earlier in the day after his call with Natasha as they finished out their day together. He seemed to be distracted and almost as if lost in thought half the time they were together, making Grace wonder what was wrong.

                “You want me to get you something?” Harry asked suddenly as they passed a hot dog stand as it approached night time. They had been out all day walking around town, being stopped by a few of his fans every now and then, but luckily no paparazzi were there to snag unnecessary photos.

                “Uhm…” she looked over at the stand, crinkling her nose up in disgust at the flies viciously attacking it in anguish to just have a bite of the succulent hot dog meat. “Wouldn’t you just rather go to a restaurant? I think we passed a Steak n’ Shake not too long ago.”

                He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m fine with that. So we can sit down and talk a bit more. We can share a milkshake,” he said in excitement, seeming to come back to life from earlier when he was pouting.

                “I love milkshakes. Let’s do that!” She instinctively grabbed his hand, not even knowing what she was doing at first as they walked back up the way they came. It was when Harry didn't brush her off, but instead held her hand back and intertwined his longer fingers with hers that she began to think about what they were doing was wrong.

                _God if anyone sees..._ She regretted her decision only because of the public's opinion and she didn't want to get Harry into trouble, but he was warm and the way he'd squeeze her hand when they laughed at a lame joke was comforting. If they were caught there was no way they could make this seem innocent. She knew she should just not care what people think, but that didn’t mean she needed to be reckless.

                “That wasn't too bad of a walk,” Harry commented as he held the door open for her to allow them to both enter the somewhat crowded steak burger joint. She had dropped his hand just before they came in view of the window of the restaurant, just knowing that anyone could be behind that wall.

                “Won't be too long of a wait either,” she said as she looked over the people waiting to be seated. It seemed only one large party and several others were waiting. It was then she heard collective screaming from little girls.

                “OH MY GOD IT'S HARRY STYLES!!” They all seemed to scream in unison as they hopped all over each other not too far away from her and Harry. An older boy, perhaps their older brother, was standing next to them. He rolled his eyes hard in frustration at his younger sisters, looking like he wanted to disappear more than anything.

                “Yeah that's me,” Harry laughed at the middle school aged girls, giving them a pleasant smile.

                “You girls want a picture with Harry?” Their dad asked, laughing at their reaction as well.

                The three girls nodded wildly as their dad took out his phone. Harry ran his hand across Grace's back, whispering he'd be back before he posed between the three little girls that could barely contain themselves from their joy.

                “Alright everyone say cheese!” The dad was still laughing as he took several pictures. He then finally signaled he was done after what seemed like thirty pictures later.

                “Thanks bud!” The dad patted Harry on the shoulder as he returned back to Grace. The younger man nodded at him, the girls still talking excitedly to one another even after their picture.

                “God can you shut up!?” The brother suddenly snapped at his still screaming sisters. “He's already with his girlfriend anyway.”

                The three girls stopped happy dancing to turn around and look at Harry then Grace. One spoke up, “That's not Natasha though...”

                _Oh God…_ Grace felt her blood start to run cold despite Harry's body heat on her arm. Her worst fear of the day was coming true right before her eyes. She tried not to be obvious, but on the inside she was panicking. Why did they think it was OK to go out in public like this? _Relax Grace, you have every right to hang out with Harry just as Natasha does. Just in a friendly manner._

                “Isn't that his ex?” The tallest girl asked, looking Grace over.

                “Told you he was a scumbag!” their brother taunted. Grace could feel Harry flinch against her arm and his muscles tense. Even though it was just a high school student calling him this, it still had to hurt.

                She sighed. He had been called enough things and she didn't want him to hear anymore from this kid. “We're just friends,” she said quickly, beating Harry to it. He glanced over at her in surprise, but still managed to keep his composure as well. “We're still friends after everything, and just chill out and chat.”

                “Didn't he cheat on you?” The tallest girl asked. “If my boyfriend cheated on me I'd never talk to him again!”

                _All these webs of lies we've and others have strung up are coming back to bite us_... “You know, don't believe everything you see. Harry's a great guy, he loves his girlfriend and would never cheat on her. He loves his friends as well too. We're just best friends.”

                The girls seemed to buy it but the brother wrinkled up his nose at Grace in absolute repulsion. “I don't believe any of it. He's got you brainwashed or you're a hoe still sleeping with him. Both of you are whores!”

                “Franklin!” The father finally intervened as Grace paled. “Watch your mouth and apologize!”

                “You know don't worry about it,” Harry finally spoke up, his voice deep with an edge of irritation. She had only seen Harry mad a few times before, and she knew for a fact an angry Harry was a scary Harry. “It's one thing to say something rude about me, I've fucked up enough to deserve it but you leave Gracie here out of it.” He turned to her in the small space of the waiting room, ignoring the other people staring at them after he had raised his voice. “Come on. We can do better than this,” he simply said as he grabbed her hand and led her back out the doors onto the street. She followed him to wherever his legs took him in silence until they arrived in a spacious park after several minutes.

                “Sorry about all that,” he apologized once they stopped walking on the crumbling sidewalk. He looked clearly frustrated as he ran his fingers through his hair with one hand, still tightly gripping hers with the other.

                “It wasn't your fault.” She watched him as he frowned at nothing in particular. Why was he always the one apologizing no matter what? “Don't worry about it Harry.”

                “How can I not worry about it? To be that rude in your face is ridiculous. The nerve of that kid... ”

                “Hey... Harry...” she called his name a bit more seductively than she meant to, making him raise his eyebrows at her in surprise. She cleared her throat, trying to simply soften her voice. “Don't let it get to you, alright?” She repeated the exact same words he had said to her not too long ago in a similar situation as she squeezed his hand gently. She wanted to make him feel better in any way she could, and this was the only way she knew how.

                He slowly nodded at her, his frown eventually fading. “You're right… All that matters is I'm out here with you right now.”

                She nodded in return, following him once again as they began walking the track of the park so Harry could let off some steam. The walk was quiet, yet peaceful as they held hands together, fingers intertwined. It was several minutes later when Harry said he'd walk her home.

                “So we never got dinner,” he laughed when her apartment complex came into view. He seemed to have gone back to his regular self after their walk and she was grateful. She hated for him to be in a bad mood.

                “You can hang out at my place. I can make us something really quick,” she suggested without thinking. _Think Grace… Harry’s already taken you can’t just invite him over willy nilly._

                “I could...” He breathed hard out of his mouth. “Thing is I have to get up really early tomorrow Gracie.” He turned to face her. “I've got to head out to Europe for our next leg of the tour.”

                “You can still hang around for dinner.” She tried to hide the fact she was disappointed and a bit sad to hear the words come out of his mouth. _We’ve only been hanging out for what? Two days straight and I already wish we had more time…_

                “I might as well spend the night then. We’ve already had our sleepover last night,” he laughed nervously as if he wasn’t sure if she’d let him stay or not.

                “Nothing wrong with staying over again.” She stopped him outside of her building. _As long as you don’t try anything weird Styles,_ she almost said but held it in. She didn’t need him teasing her or getting any weird ideas.

                “Yeah you're right... Why don't I get a few overnight things and I'll be over again? We can completely catch up with one another then.”

                “Oh take my car Harry. It'll be faster.” She grabbed her keys out of her bag, taking her car key off and giving it to Harry. “Depends on how long you take but dinner should be ready for you when you come back.”

                “Sounds great!” He let Grace direct him towards where her SUV was parked before he was heading out.

                _We're like a married couple..._ she thought as she watched him head over to her SUV. In all honestly, she didn't want to sleep alone tonight either knowing Harry was leaving. She still hadn't even told him how she felt after the events of today.

                _Later,_ she reminded herself as she walked into her building and pushed the button for the elevator. She knew definitely without a doubt, she was in love with Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Things are going to get a bit mixed up again next update, so prepare for that ha. As always, thank you again for reading, and thank you so very much for the comments/kudos. Like I always said, they're motivators so I _really_ appreciate it. You guys help me finish this story up, you truly do. Thank you!


	9. Misconceptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of the week is here! Happy reading and enjoy!

                The next morning came faster than Grace wanted as Harry’s alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 3:00 AM. The noise scared her at first, but once she saw Harry’s sleeping form beside her she relaxed as everything from last night and the previous day registered in her mind.

                “Harry…” she called his name, her voice cracking a bit since she was parched from last night. _We stayed up so late talking to one another once again…_

                “Please just ten more minutes,” he whined in his sleep as she sat up beside him to shake his shoulder.

                “Harry you’ll be late!” She gave up trying to get him out of bed after a few shakes, going back to sitting on the balls of her feet in her bed. Somehow after a late night talk with him in her living room they both ended up in her bed. She had insisted that he sleep on the couch, but in turn he had demanded it was too small for him and he couldn’t possibly fit so she had begrudgingly let him sleep in the same bed as her for the third time.

                “For fuck’s sake,” he muttered under his breath, sitting up slightly on his elbow. He turned to shut the alarm off on his phone, giving Grace a view of his bare back.

                “You already packed, right?” She asked, trying to control herself at the fact Harry was indeed shirtless in her bed. He strangely didn’t bring any sleepwear over despite knowing he was sleeping over, so he opted to taking his shirt off somewhere after she had fallen asleep, complaining about her room was too hot as he held her closer to his bare chest.

                He nodded, rubbing at his eyes sleepily as he turned back to her. He rested his head back on the pillow, allowing a few of his curls to fall out of his ponytail. He was gorgeous… How had she gotten so lucky to end up with him like this? “Yeah I left my bag in your truck.” His morning voice was husky, slightly cracking at the end. _Yeah… I’m definitely lucky._

                “Why my car?” She raised her eyebrows at him in suspicion as she looked down at him.

                “Because you’re riding up to the airport with me. Aren’t you?” He looked at her as if she had asked him the dumbest question before breaking out into a shy smile.

                _Why is he signing me up for things I never said I’d do?_ She let out a sigh. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be with Harry, it was just that his behavior recently was odd? Who doesn’t talk to someone in several months and then decides they constantly want to be around them when they bump into them again at random? “Yeah I will Harry. I will.”

                “Great!” His grogginess seemed to dissipate a bit as he sat up in bed, the sheets falling down to just above the waistband of his boxers. “I’ll get ready… you too… See you in the kitchen in an hour or so.” He reached out, ruffling her bed hair before slowly getting himself out of bed with a grunt to head towards her bathroom for presumably a morning shower.

                _Why is it still like we’re dating?_ She shook her head at the thought, trying to let it roll off her back but she just couldn’t. It seemed to her now that Harry definitely had some feelings for her he wasn’t letting her in on.

                _But why won’t he just tell me if that’s true?_

* * *

 

                Riding with Harry to the airport was peaceful, minus the fact Grace was a bit sad just thinking about him leaving. Now she really wouldn’t see him for a long time, and still hadn’t come clean with her feelings to him.

                She glanced over at him once they arrived as he grabbed his single bag from her trunk so they could walk together to his terminal. She could only go so far with him, but it seemed that he wanted her to be with him every step of the way before he departed. She didn’t mind at all though; she needed to spend every last second she could with him.

                _He looks a bit unhappy?_ She noticed how his eyebrows were furrowed in a bit of irritation and how the corners of his mouth drooped. He caught her looking at him, giving her a raise of his eyebrows in a playful manner, but she could clearly tell he was indeed unhappy with something.

                “Harry what’s wrong?” she ventured, knowing this would be one of the last times she’d talk to him in person before he headed out. She needed to know in case he was in the need of another pep talk.

                He shrugged his shoulders at first as they entered the building, glancing around to make sure the paps weren’t hot on his tail. He looked like he wouldn’t answer at first but then the words just spilled out of his mouth as he leaned closer to her. “Do you want me to be honest?”

                “Well that would be nice.” She gave him a little smile but he didn’t return it. _Oh no, what’s the matter?_

                Harry sighed, looking around to find the correct gate before he continued to talk. “Well… To be honest... I don’t want to go. I love touring and everything but… I don’t want to leave you.”

                She blinked at him, slightly taken aback by his words. _Shouldn’t he be saying this to Natasha instead?_ “Harry I-”

                “Sorry, too much?” He shrugged again, suddenly waving ahead of them. She looked up to find the other three members of One Direction waving back at him just a few feet away.

                “Oh hey Grace!” Liam greeted her first while Niall instead gave Harry a skeptical look. “Didn’t know you were tagging along.” He gave her a cheeky smile and she wanted to gag. Did he think they were still having sex?

                “I just wanted to see Harry off before his next big leg of the tour,” Grace said confidently to prevent him from teasing her. She really wasn’t in the mood for it with Harry acting stranger than ever.

                “Isn’t that cute?” Liam turned to Louis and they both smiled at each other, signaling something. Grace still had no idea what it was since she was still out of the loop of it, but it did bother her slightly.

                “How’s Natasha?” Niall suddenly asked from nowhere. He seemed to be a bit concerned as he stood behind the two older men.

                “She’s fine. We talked a bit yesterday.” Harry kept his same expression, never faltering as he relayed the information to Niall.

                _Yeah when you told her you’d meet up with her and you never did? Something is going on here…_ Grace avoided looking at him, feeling Niall’s eyes suddenly on her before they swept back over to Harry. He had told Natasha last night that he had a change of plans and couldn’t make it just so he could spend more time with her. Did she think it was wrong? Of course, but knowing that Harry was so stubborn there wouldn’t be a way of talking him out of it. _Great now Niall looks like he’s onto us about something._

                Niall frowned at him, seeming to not be too convinced. He muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t hear but also made Liam turn to glare at him.

                “Well since we’re all here, we should head on over to security!” Louis said happily over Liam quietly scolding Niall. “Get our bags checked in! Get patted down maybe.” He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Security’s such a pain in the ass. We might as well get naked.”

                “Yeah…” Harry agreed with no energy, not even laughing at Louis’ joke. Louis frowned at him, turning to raise his eyebrows at Grace in question. She shook her head at him, trying to show him she had no idea what was wrong with Harry until the younger man turned to face her.

                “Don’t look so sad Harry. We’ll still keep in contact.” She gave him the best smile she could to try and make him feel better. She waved Liam and Niall goodbye as they continued to argue in the distance.

                He just simply nodded, looking up at Louis in some unspoken signal that had the older man walking after both Liam and Niall. Louis waved her goodbye, motioning for her to text him and she nodded before focusing her attention back on Harry quickly. “Call me later, ok?” Harry asked quietly as he sat his small luggage down.

                “Yeah of course-” she started but was cut off by his long arms wrapping around her in a hug. She wasn’t expecting it at all, but the feeling was welcoming. “Harry?”

                “Just a goodbye hug,” he seemed to laugh into her hair before letting out a long, deep sigh as if taking his last dying breath. His hands were gentle on her back, his long fingers seeming to trace patterns straight through the fabric of her shirt and to her bare skin. It sent chills down her spine, but she still kept herself locked in his embrace.

                Then he uttered those same three words he had whispered to her back when he left her apartment in the late summer of last year right against the shell of her ear in a hushed whisper, his lips ghosting along the sensitive skin until he moved up to plant a simple, brief kiss on her forehead. She expected more, but in the blink of an eye he was pulling away and grabbing his bag again.

                “See you later Gracie!” were his last words as he waved her goodbye, heading off to meet with his other bandmates as if nothing had ever happened.

                She waved back at him knowing deep down inside they were just more than friends… They were something else despite him already dating someone. Was Harry just not being honest with her about his feelings or was it that he was just trying to cheat on Natasha? Not knowing what to do she knew she needed to call the one other man that would always be there when she needed him.

                _Zayn Malik._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far as much as I enjoy writing it! Things are _really_ going to pick up more after this chapter, so fasten those seatbelts. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this story and thank you so much for all the lovely comments you guys leave and also for the kudos/bookmarks/subs. It really means a lot to me!


	10. Regrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mid-week update is here finally! I think some of you will find yourselves pleasantly surprised that I did decide to keep a certain character in this story :) Happy reading!

                Grace regretted a few things in life, like not going to prom or even the time when she couldn’t get tickets for the Take Me Home tour years ago thanks to it selling out. There was one thing she regretted above all of those things though, and that was being too close to Harry recently.

                She didn’t regret the time she spent with him. She loved Harry, she loved being with him, she even liked when they’d cuddle together in the same bed and talk about just life, but it was the headlines that came out over the next few days that had a panic sweeping through her like a hurricane.

                **_Grace Evergreen caught coming out of Harry Styles’ condo! Is he trying to make everything better with sex?_**

**_Harry Styles caught cheating on his girlfriend with his ex!_ **

Everything the media threw together were lies, she knew it from day one when she first got into that huge mess with Harry, but this had to be the worst. She and Harry never had sex, but that seemed to be the topic swirling around the both of them for several days. She had been too scared to go into work, mostly intimidated by her cranky boss that had sent her a nasty email when all the news started coming out. He was infuriated she was spending time with Harry, but then again it was none of his business who she hung out with. She was going to quit soon, but now his disgusting demeanor made her want to quit even more. Plus, his son would not stop blowing her phone up so she had to put him on her block list.

                **_Zaynie please I need you. Can you come over around 4pm?_**

                She let out a sigh as she read the same text over and over again as the time ticked closer and closer to four. It was a whiney text, perhaps one she should be sending to Harry, but it couldn’t be helped. The two had been talking on and off ever since Harry left three days ago for his tour and three days since the horrible headlines started coming out. Zayn hadn’t mentioned it though, he had instead been more interested in catching up with each other in the small gap of time they had quit talking thanks to his new family and career.

                “Come on Zayn,” she muttered under her breath as she laid on the sofa with Happy sitting on the other side of the room gazing at her. The big dog had sensed her anxiety ever since the news started coming out and became tenser than ever. She knew he was not bred to be a guard dog but he was good at alerting her of someone’s presence outside, making them scuttle away in fear at his loud and deep bark.

                Suddenly there was a knock at the door, making Happy jump to his paws barking. She was a bit nervous to answer even though she knew it wouldn’t be the paps or a crazy fan. Harry was careful when he picked this apartment out for her and had even invested in some paperwork to keep the media off her back. Just like they were banned from hanging around his condo, they were forbidden to hang around her apartment complex as well.

                “Grace it’s me!” A familiar deep voice called from the other side of the door over Happy’s barking.

                “Thank God,” she breathed out, not even bothering to look out the peephole as she opened the door. Happy wiggled past her and instantly started jumping on Zayn’s legs, begging to be petted.

                “Hey!” He greeted both her and the dog as he rubbed Happy’s head as he tried to get in her door. “How’s it going?” he asked as she pulled Happy away from him while Zayn closed the door behind them.

                “Fine. Well… stressful.” She let out a sigh, scratching her head as she released Happy’s collar. “How are you?”

                “I’ve seen it, you don’t have to talk about it. And I’m fine as well.” He then began to look around her apartment, his eyes widening. “Wow nice place you got!”

                Grace smiled up at the older man as he whistled to himself at her choice of furniture and accessories to decorate her place. While he looked around, she was busy looking at him and how he had changed over several months. Shockingly, he had gotten a buzz cut, giving him a mature yet still gentle appearance. Other than that, he was still Zayn Malik, the man she always relied on when things went wrong with Harry. “Thank you.”

                “May I sit?” He gestured towards the sofa as Happy headed into the kitchen to drink his water. She nodded and he plopped himself down immediately, kicking his shoes off and propping his feet up to where they rested on the other arm of the sofa.

                She joined him on the sofa, sitting right on the edge by his legs, not at all bothered by their closeness like she would if it was Harry. She knew Zayn was a married man; he wouldn’t try anything weird or say anything to annoy her like Harry would. “It’s-”

                “Let me guess. _Harry_.” Zayn beat her to it, grinning from ear to ear at her frown. “You guys still haven’t gotten together yet?”

                “We… no?” She raised her eyebrows at him. _He sounds like he’s in disbelief?_ “What? Were we supposed to?”

                He shook his head, going to rub his beard. “I don’t know, that’s up to you and Harry. I’m not in control of this relationship. But with that aside, what is it you _really_ wanted to talk about?”

                She paused a bit, trying to find the best way to tell him. “It’s just… Zayn… If you had a best female friend would you _always_ want her to be around and put her over your… well your wife now?”

                “Hell no.” Zayn frowned up, looking repulsed. “Girlfriends, wives, fiancées come first before a friend. I mean, I love my friends, God knows I do, but come on. The woman you decided to date should come first, always.”

                She nodded her head in agreement at his words. They only confirmed the thoughts she had been thinking all along. She hated to say it, but the words came out anyway, “So… do you think Harry’s cheating on Natasha?”

                “Oh I see where this is going.” Zayn started to laugh, moving his hand away from his face. “Harry’s _capable_ , well he was when he was younger. Not saying he’s a bad guy but he’s _capable_ of it. But sweetheart, when it comes to you I think it’s the opposite.”

                “What’s that supposed to mean?” She frowned at him. Was he now trying to hint that Harry was cheating on her with Natasha? That made absolutely no sense at all! She was just his _friend_ that he was being a bit too clingy towards.

                Zayn let out a sigh, biting his lip. “You know, I’m not going to go too far into this, I don’t know all the details for that. You _really_ need to talk about this with Harry babe. Not me. But…” he sung out the word, raising his eyebrows at her. “From what it sounds like I think you yourself need to tell Harry the truth on your feelings. I know you like him, ever since I first met you I knew it. Like I’ve always said, be honest with him and he’ll be honest with you.”

                Grace sat there in silence trying to take in everything Zayn had just said. He was always great in giving her advice, and it only spurred her more to tell Harry her true feelings, but she couldn’t do it over text, not even over Skype. She needed him to be here with her to make it official and meaningful. _Harry won’t be back in what… a little over two months I think? I can’t do this…_

                “Don’t doubt yourself.” He suddenly patted her shoulder as if sensing her feelings, moving his legs from behind her so he could sit normally on the sofa. He sat up in his seat, looking her dead in the eye. “You’ve got this. If anyone is going to succeed at this, it’s going to be you babe.”

                She honestly believed him this time around, giving him a small smile that he also returned. “Thing is Zayn, he’s with someone else,” she said softly, confirming her worst fear out loud. She always feared that Harry would go off and date someone else when they broke apart, and here it was happening.

                “Things have a way of working themselves out. Trust me.” He looked away from her, seeming to focus on the cream colored carpet right in front of them. “Trust me on that,” he muttered again, settling some thought of his.

                She stared at him curiously, wondering just what that thought was but now she had the answers she needed to finally tell Harry the truth. She wouldn’t lie to him anymore about how she felt, she just couldn’t do that to both herself or him anymore. Thing was, she had to wait several months before she could do it.

                What would happen between now and then was unexpected, but deep down in her Grace felt she’d be seeing Harry faster than she could imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading guys! Next update will be quite a treat for you all that enjoy seeing things from another perspective. As always, thanks for reading, thanks for the comments/kudos as well. See you next update!


	11. Where Do Broken Hearts Go (Harry POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week is here! This time around you'll finally see things from another view. Happy reading and enjoy!

                “Why don’t you just tell her?”

                Harry shrugged from his position on the other side of the hotel room as he sat comfortably in one of the chairs. He was in no mood to talk today and he wished his friend would pick up on his social cues, but alas the older man didn’t seem to care or simply ignored Harry’s poor posture and lack of interest.

                “No really _why_?” Louis’ voice lowered as he asked the question again. He was leaning on the windowsill facing Harry, his arms folded across his chest.

                Harry let out a sigh. He really didn’t want to be having this conversation when they had to leave in less than thirty minutes to head off to the stadium they’d be performing in tonight. He was stressed out enough as it was from a bit of jetlag, bad eating habits and getting mobbed by fans back at the airport a few days back which was quite frightening. Besides, this was none of Louis’ business. Before he could answer though the older man continued.

                “I know you like her Harry so don’t play dumb with me. All you do is talk about her and grin at your phone whenever you two are texting… or how you sound so giddy on the phone or laugh so hard I can hear you through the walls.” He shook his head slowly, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. He just couldn’t drop it, could he? “I just can’t believe you won’t tell her.”

                “I will,” Harry stressed, going to run his fingers across his eyebrow in irritation.

                “And when exactly will that be Harold? After she gets with another guy?”

                Louis’ next words made him snap. “For Christ’s sake Louis we’re on tour! It’s not beneficial for me to tell Gracie everything I’m feeling right smack in the middle of this leg. I mean what good does that do? We can’t even see one another to make progress! It’s tacky anyway to tell someone how you feel over the phone.” He didn’t add in on the part on how he was a little insecure about Grace liking him back. Yeah they talked a lot about various topics, even love, but she never hinted at liking him. Besides, he could still remember how much she used to resent him back when they first got to know each other. Still with all this in mind, he wanted to try and tell her how he felt. He knew he had to deep down in his heart.

                “So what? We have two months before we get another break!” Louis shot back, never going down without winning a fight. “Do you know what can happen in two months? She could find another guy! She could forget all about you since you’re too busy for her!”

                “Why are you so into my love life and business?” Harry didn’t mean to raise his voice so loud, but when he finished his question he realized his voice was echoing off the walls. He couldn’t help it but he was annoyed, not just with Louis, but just thinking about how it had been going on a month since he’d last seen Grace in person. What if she really did find someone else? What if she hated how he was never physically there for her in times like these?

                “Because I’m looking out for you Harold. That’s what friends are for.” Louis sounded defeated as he shook his head, lowering his guard and signaling their small disagreement was over by uncrossing his arms. “We’re leaving in fifteen to head down to the stadium so get your ass down here soon.” The older man left his room without another word, leaving Harry to sit alone in his own irritation.

                “Annoying brat...” Harry muttered under his breath, grabbing his phone from the table beside him. He immediately unlocked it and headed for his messages, ignoring everyone else but _her_.

                He had been texting Grace as much as he could while he was on this leg of the tour, even Skyping her when he had a full day off. He had no idea why Louis became so invested in his personal love life after he broke up with Eleanor and learned that he and Grace had been faking everything, but he hated it as much as he knew Louis was right. Grace still had no idea what his true feelings were and his love for her was only getting stronger the more and more they talked. He was pretty sure he had never been this stuck on a girl for this long.

                He was going to tell her how he felt at the airport, it had actually slipped out now that he thought about it, but Grace probably didn’t believe him especially since he was still dating Natasha.

                _Natasha…_ He filled his lungs with air before pushing it back out, wishing he wasn’t in this situation. He had dwindled down his interactions with the older woman but he hadn’t quite cut the cord yet. He believed it was horrible to end a relationship over text, even with her calling him often to say mean, horrible things. Calling him a cheater and a liar was only the tip of the iceberg.

_**“So you have time to hang out with her Harry but not me?! We're going to have a long fucking talk when you get back to LA!”** _

                He had seen the news about both him and Grace as soon as it came out. How they fucked and some other made up shit. A video of them both at the Steak and Shake was released as well, only fueling both the media and his girlfriend. This had always happened to him when he went out with female friends, he was used to it, but the way they slandered his name still hurt.

                He rubbed at his temple, praying that a headache wouldn’t come on as he opened the conversation between he and Grace on his iPhone. He had talked to her three days ago, the longest they had gone without communication ever since he left LA. Their last conversation consisted of him trying to comfort her about the paps and how Natasha couldn’t do anything to her despite her threats. All the other times they simply exchanged _I miss you’s_ and how much they wished the other was there with them. He started to type in a new conversation until he was interrupted.

                “HAROLD! FIVE!” Louis screamed outside his door, knocking him out of his plans.

                “COMING!” He typed in quickly, **_Hey Gracie. How’s it going? I want to call you later after my concert, so we'll talk more then! Bye x._** He stood to his feet, grabbing his small bag that contained another change of clothes for tonight. Even though he loved to perform for all his fans, he couldn’t wait for this to be over so he could talk to his favorite girl in the world. Little did he know, he’d be seeing her faster than anticipated as well.

* * *

 

               White smoke, the deafening screams of girls, the pounding bass… it was everything Harry had become accustomed to in his six years of being an entertainer. He got nervous still, but he took all that energy and put it into being as wild as he could be on stage, pleasing his fans of all ages and giving it his all. He’d skip around, dance the best he could and put on the greatest show he could. Tonight was no exception to that rule despite his massive headache and stomachache.

                “You don’t look too good mate,” Liam patted him on the shoulder, dripping with sweat despite the cool spring temperatures after they finished up one of the fans’ favorite songs. “Do we need to take a break for you?”

                “I’m fucking fine.” Harry leaned down to pick up his water bottle, bringing it to his lips for a quick swig. “You guys worry too much.” He glanced out at the fans as the beginning of _Where Do Broken Hearts Go_ began to play, waving at a few girls in the front row who began to scream louder.

                “Well that’s because you look as pale as the moon. We’re brothers, we look after one another, and I’m not going to have you passing out on this stage because you’re too stubborn to call it quits.”

                “I’m not stubborn.” Harry turned away from him, flipping his hair out of his face as Niall started up the first verse. “We aren’t kids anymore Liam. I know what’s good and what’s bad for me.”

                Liam snorted in laughter, rolling his eyes. “Yeah say that to the girl you let walk away from you last year.” What sounded like, “Which also makes this song ironic as hell,” escaped Liam’s lips as well, but Harry chose to ignore it.

                He turned away from him, hoping Liam wouldn’t see he had flinched. He was right, but it was none of his business on how he ran his romantic, personal life. He’d fix everything one day, right now he needed to focus on trying to cover for Zayn’s part.

                Everything was going smoothly just like every tour date so far. This song was one of his personal favorites, having been written by him of course. He could really get down with this song, feeling every emotion behind it, taking him back to that day he walked out of Grace’s apartment for the very last time…

                He completely nailed his part after the second chorus, making the fans go wild as he screamed the last note, wondering just if Grace would take him back if he really said how he felt or was she in it with that Chester guy still?

                He was knocked out of his thoughts when Niall suddenly kicked him in the butt, taking off running towards upper stage. He left the other lads at their microphone stands, unclipping his own from the stand to run after the shorter man. He was just about to catch up with him until what felt like someone squeezing his chest stopped him. He stopped moving, thinking the crushing pain would go away if he just stood still and quietly breathed, but his chest just constricted more, stopping his breathing and causing his vision to start turning into fuzzy little white spots.

                “Harold?” He could hear Niall’s voice on the speaker as he broke out in a cold sweat, clutching at his chest. It seemed as if time began to slow down as his mic dropped from his frozen hands, the green end slowly bouncing off the stage floor to only roll down to the wild fans on the floor, emitting a high pitched screeching noise across the entire stadium.

                “Guys get over here!”

                _Fuck am I having a heart attack?_ Harry couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t move his head or neck, he couldn’t move anything but he felt himself falling. The last thing he remembered was an exploding pain on the side of his head before everything went black and silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what'll happen next to one of our favorites? Things are about to become complicated, so get ready for the next update! As always, thanks for reading and thank you so much for the comments/kudos/subs. You guys really make my day and in turn, I hope I make your day as well with this story and put a smile on your face. Thank you!!


	12. Emergency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of the week is here, and I know you're all eager to see what happened to one of our favorites! This update is a bit on the shorter side, but next update will make up for it. As always, happy reading!

                Grace received the call early the next morning, much to her displeasure and panic. She was dreaming about ordering some delicious soft pretzels with cinnamon from a movie theatre concession stand with Harry by her side until the faint buzzing of her phone under her pillow jolted her awake. She ignored it, thinking it was maybe Liam messing around with her phone but what bothered her was the fact it was someone making a call at this unearthly hour. She waited it out, hoping they’d just leave a message afterwards but instead the person redialed her number to try again.

                “What the hell,” she muttered under her breath as she dug her vibrating phone from under her pillow, not even bothering to check caller ID when she answered. “You better-”

                “Grace! Damn it I’ve been holding the line forever! What took you so long?!” Zayn’s voice came out rushed and loud right into her ear.

                “Well maybe because it’s 1:00 AM!” she shot back, surprised that Zayn was the one calling. She would have been a bit peeved if this was Liam, but she was still upset to be woken up this early. “What’s the matter? Why are you freaking out?”

                “Haven’t you seen the news!? Hasn’t one of the other guys called you!?”

                “No?” She sat up in bed, her heart rate starting to increase when she realized this might actually be serious. It also didn’t help that he seemed to be in a panic as well. “Zayn what’s wrong? What’s happened?!”

                There was a moment of silence on the line as if he was picking out his words before he whispered, “It’s Harry. He’s in the hospital.”

                Time seemed to freeze as the words registered in her mind. _Harry? Hospitalized?_ She didn’t hear how Zayn was telling her to get ready and how he was already in town to pick her up. All she could do was sit in bed in the dark of her room, the phone barely still in her shaking hand as she let out a choked sob at the shocking news. _What? Harry was just fine… we were just talking the other night over Skype… He looked a bit sleepy but…_

                “Grace? Grace baby it’s all right,” Zayn sighed. “I'll be over in about half an hour, just hang in there with me.”

                She nodded her head even though she knew Zayn couldn’t see as she got up on wobbly legs to get herself somewhat ready and presentable for his arrival. She could remember how irritated she was last night at how Harry never did call her after his show like he promised. He never left an apology text either explaining why he hadn’t followed through. She had went to bed slightly mad at him, but now those feelings were replaced with nothing but worry. _Why hadn’t Louis or Liam texted me about this? Why is Zayn the first one to tell me the news?_

                “Breathe... ” Zayn was trying his best to calm her down while the sound of a car door closing echoed on his side of the line. “We can do this. I’m going to leave you for a bit so you can get ready. Be there soon sweetheart. Ok?”

                “OK,” her voice cracked a bit at the end when she made it down the hall and to her bathroom. She knew Zayn would stay on the line for as long as she left it on, so she ended the call first, finally letting a sob escape in the quiet of her house.

                She had no idea what had exactly happened to Harry or how serious it was, but she couldn’t help but to sink slowly down to the cold, hard tiles of her bathroom floor with her head on her arms as she pulled her legs up to her chest. She felt Happy's wet nose on her arm, trying to comfort her, but nothing would make her feel better until she saw Harry and made sure he was alright.

* * *

 

                Zayn arrived in exactly thirty minutes dressed in a black hoodie and a simple pair of jeans. Grace hated how she must have looked a mess in front of him while opening the door, but it couldn't be helped.

                “Doing alright?” He asked quietly, this time ignoring Happy who was wagging his tail at him to seek attention. The older dog seemed to be confused at this whole ordeal, not even bothering to jump up on Zayn’s legs this time.

                She nodded quietly, not making eye contact with him in case he noticed how red and slightly puffy her eyes were. “Let’s just go.”

                “You have an overnight bag? I have no idea how long we’ll be staying and I’d hate to-” He stopped talking as Grace handed him a medium bag with a few pairs of clothes and necessities. She had simply thrown in a few pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts as well as a few hygiene and personal items. She had no idea either how long they’d be staying, but it should be enough to last her at least five days.

                “I’ve got my passport and everything too,” she sighed. “When we get there, we’ll have to stop by the store for some more items.”

                “I figured.” Zayn looked at her as if he wanted to say more, but changed his mind as he simply said, “Well let’s get going. The faster we get there, the better.”

                She nodded, glancing over her shoulder at Happy who was staring at them both still in confusion. “Be back boy,” she said quietly, rubbing right behind his ear before she and Zayn walked out the door together and made sure everything was locked up properly. She had left him several bowls of food and water, as well as several dog pads for him to do his business on. It was too late to call a boarding service, but if she needed to stay in London longer than expected she’d call her parents to check in on him.

                “I’ll explain everything once we get on the flight. We have a long eleven hours in front of us,” were Zayn’s last words before they headed down the stairs to his car parked on the side of the street and started speeding out to the airport to the private jet that awaited them.     

* * *

 

                “And that’s what happened,” Zayn finished the story quietly not even an hour into their flight after Grace begged him nonstop to tell her the news.

                Grace sat there in absolute silence, stunned numb. “But how?” she breathed after a while, still not understanding how on earth this could happen to Harry. He was perfectly fine last time they saw each other in person. Heck, he’d even been texting and calling her whenever he got the chance except for that one week when he was a bit moody.

                Zayn shrugged, somewhat looking guilty as he looked out the window into the night sky. _What was that look?_ “That’s what we’re going to go find out.”

                She leaned back in her seat, letting out a long sigh as Zayn’s security guard watched her curiously. Zayn had to explain to him what seemed like thirty times that she was a very close friend of his and someone very special to Harry. The guard bought it, but he seemed suspicious at the same time.

                Pushing those thoughts aside she focused on everything Zayn had kindly tried to explain to her. Nothing was adding up in her head, but she tried not to push herself. She was nearly on the edge anyway just thinking about her current situation with her modeling company and her unresolved feelings for Harry. She was barely able to handle this news at all.

_“Promise me you won't cry.”_

_“I won’t!” She frowned at the older man in irritation but Zayn didn’t seem to buy it. He had seemed to be walking on egg shells ever since he picked her up, and she hated it. She knew he was trying not to upset her, but she needed to know what happened._

_“You look like you might...” he trailed off until Grace glared at him harder._

_“Damn it Zayn just tell me the entire story on what happened to Harry and stop beating around the bush!”_

_“OK! Alright!” He frowned up before relaxing his face. “Well... How do I say it as less graphic as possible... Harry he... ” Zayn paused, chewing his bottom lip as he tried to find the right words. “The other lads were performing the other night, right? Well Harry had a bit of an accident on stage where he hit himself pretty good on the head. On one of those metal stage props we… they have. It's been all over the news babe, I can’t believe you haven’t seen it. ” He then turned to Grace, his face seeming to fall as well at the situation._

_“Is he going to be alright?” she asked quietly, trying not to break her promise to not cry._

_“They wouldn't show it on TV. They showed everything up to the point; I guess it was too graphic.” Zayn pulled his phone out of his pocket, going to immediately type in something. She was about to ask him how he had working Wi-Fi connection on the plane but he was leaning over closer to her to show her a paused video he had pulled up. “This is it. Are you OK with watching it?”_

_She nodded, biting her lip when Zayn hit play this time without nagging her or asking anymore questions. The video started off with Harry chasing Niall as usual, but something went horribly wrong when the younger man suddenly stopped in his tracks, going to clutch his chest on the left side as he frowned in pain._

_“Oh God...” she muttered when her friend's mic dropped from his hand and rolled off the stage, emitting a high pitched noise that echoed all across the stadium. Liam started to rush over while Niall was screaming for help, but it was too late when Harry fainted so quickly in front of everyone. Luckily, the video ended right before impact, but now she was worried more than anything. Head injuries were no joke._

_“Harry will be alright,” Zayn quietly whispered next to her, turning his phone screen off and touching her shoulder. “We’ll be alright. It’ll all be ok.”_

                Ever since then the two had fallen into silence. Zayn suggested she should get some rest while she could just before he drifted off into what seemed like a peaceful sleep. Grace on the other hand, could only dream about getting some decent sleep. All of the eleven hours it took the jet to land in the Heathrow Airport she fell in and out of a sweaty, fitful sleep. She seemed to flashback to times when she and Harry would hang out together, his arm around her shoulder, laughing softly at some lame joke. Sometimes the flashbacks would merge into dreams where he’d lean over closer, planting a gentle kiss on the side of her mouth while whispering, _I love you,_ before shyly going to bury his face into the crook of her neck.

               They were simple and sweet dreams, ones she was hoping to maybe create with him. She knew for a fact Harry was that person she wanted to try a relationship with and hopefully be together long term with. _I just hope everything is alright…_ was her only thought as she went in and out of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Next update will be _interesting_ (without spoiling anything) so get ready for it! As I always say, I won't keep you guys in a sad mood for too long though, so don't worry! As always, thank you for taking time out of your day to read this, and thank you as well for all the lovely comments and kudos you all leave. They all mean so much to me so keep 'em coming. See you next update!


	13. Scared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week is finally here! Much apologizes for having this out a bit later than intended, but despite the delay here is the update with a bit more insight on what happened to Harry here! Happy reading!

                Picking up her life and dropping her job to fly to the other side of the world was something Grace never thought she’d be doing for one man. It was something she thought she’d never be doing at all for anyone outside of family, but this was something she couldn’t ever ignore. Harry was her best friend, he was the man she was in love with, and she felt deep down in her heart she had to be there for him.

                **_Harry Styles passes out at O2 Arena in front of tens of thousands of fans! Was it stress or his crazy diet?_**

She bit her lip as she remembered the cover title of a newspaper at a newspaper stand in the airport. There were countless newspaper and magazine articles on what had happened, and it had even made it on the news. It was impossible to be out of the loop on what had happened to Harry. She couldn’t even escape it if she wanted to.

                _“He knocked himself out didn’t he? Quite a bit of blood on stage too! Poor kid… You’d think they’d take care of their artists better!”_ she remembered one of the news announcers had said. She couldn’t shake the words from her mind as the black Escalade she and Zayn had ridden in from the airport slowed to a stop in front of the hospital. Just how bad had Harry hit his head?

                “You go in first. I’ll be right after you,” Zayn told her as he leaned forward to tell the driver something. She nodded and took her leave, clutching her purse strap over her shoulder so tight the leather cut into her skin. What would await her behind these glass doors?

                Arriving at the hospital Harry was staying in way anything but pleasant. Despite it being a quiet place of recovering it was swarming with paparazzi like moths to a flame.

                _Shouldn’t this be against the rules?_ She sighed as the automatic doors opened for her. It was barely just peaking twenty-four hours since Harry’s accident and she just couldn’t understand why the paps hadn’t been kicked out already.

                “Excuse me!” She pushed her way past several people in the crowded lobby. Some of them were older men, but quite a few were younger girls. _Just what did all this people think they were doing here? They couldn’t all be here at the same time to see a family member… This was for Harry._

                “We’re going to have to ask you to leave!” A security guard was shouting from the double doors that led to the emergency room. Another guard was already starting to round people up to lead them back outside so real emergencies could be dealt with.

                _What a mess…_ She made her way to the front of the crowd, somehow avoiding the other guard from pushing her back out. _I wish Zayn were here right now... What’s taking him so long to tell his security something?_

                “Ma’am I’ve said it time and time before, _you’re going to have to leave,_ ” the first security guard said to her when she finally made it to the door. He was frowning hard in both irritation and exhaustion.

                “Yeah but I’m different. I’m his friend,” she tried, knowing he would probably still tell her to get lost even though she knew it was true. It was worth a shot though, right?

                The security guard made a laughing face as he scoffed, “Aren’t we all? I’ve had girls coming in here insisting to see him with the same thing-”

                “We dated this past summer-”

                “And I’m the President of the United States!” He yelled straight into her face, making her flinch when some of his spit landed on her cheek. _Gross._ “Now go back home! It’s family only!”

                Letting out a defeated sigh she turned towards the waiting room. She wasn’t going to sit here and argue with this man before he had her arrested. She got chills even thinking about the last time she got arrested with Harry. It was something she never wanted to happen again.

                “Sir she’s with me.”

                The familiar voice made her turn around, a small smile forming on her face despite how stressed and worn out she was. The twenty three year old man waved her over while still talking the security guard out of kicking her out.

                “She just sat up here and told me she and that Harry kid were friends _and_ dated. What sense does that make!?”

                “Sir they are and did. You’re going to have to let her in with me.” Zayn gently grabbed her shoulder before he started to lead her in the double doors towards the back rooms without the guard’s permission.

                “Thanks Zayn,” she whispered under her breath, halfway expecting the guard to come charging after them. She didn’t even look over her shoulder, but she was sure the man was seething with rage from every pore in his body.

                “It’s no problem. I’m always here for Harry’s girl.”

                _I’m not that anymore…_ She let out a breath, shouldering his hand off of her. “So how is he? Is that what you were talking to the man in the car about?”

                He seemed to be a bit offended at having being brushed off, but he continued talking as he led her down the hall. “Well yes and no… He said they took him in a room, but didn’t really tell me what the details were besides he was still unconscious. He’s still alive, that’s for sure.”

                “This isn’t time for jokes Zayn.” She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration as they turned a corner. “Of course he’s still alive. People don’t die from falling on stage.”

                “Chill… Chill. I was just trying to lighten the mood.” He hung his head for a while, a silence filling the space between them. He spoke again a few moments later, “I’m sorry about all of this happening Grace. I really am.”

                “It’s fine. It’s not your fault it happened.” She looked away from him to find three other people sitting down in chairs outside of a room. All three of their heads were down, but Grace would recognize these three men anywhere and at any time.

                “Grace?” Louis noticed her first, looking away from his phone when he heard footsteps to raise his eyebrows in shock. He immediately got to his feet, running straight over to her to give her a hug that nearly pushed all the air out of her. “I’m _so_ glad to see you.”

                “I’m _so_ sorry about all this…”Liam’s voice suddenly came from behind the older man.

                “Guys stop apologizing.” She hugged Louis back before stepping away. “Just… someone please tell me what happened.”

                All three of them looked at one another, a dark look coming over their faces. “Well you heard he passed out, right?” Niall’s voice was quieter than usual as he waved at her.

                “Yeah but why?”

                Louis looked around as if making sure no one was listening before he made Grace come sit by him. Zayn leaned on the wall near the chairs, still unnoticed, so he could hear what Louis was about to say as well. “He’s been… stressed a lot. With the tour and his personal life.”

                “A bit depressed too,” Liam butted in before Louis gave him the eye. _I guess Liam wasn’t supposed to say that?_

                “Well what for?” She couldn’t put two and two together. He had a girlfriend, he was touring with his best mates, going to cities they’ve never been to before, and he had the most supportive fanbase of any celebrity. _What could he possibly be depressed about?_

                Louis avoided eye contact as Liam just cleared his throat quietly. “A bit of girl problems,” Niall answered, leaning on Louis’s back from the chair behind him. “He hasn’t been the same since-”

                “We’re just glad you’re here to support him,” Louis cut Niall off, making the younger man frown in irritation at being cut off yet again in a conversation.

                “If he needs anyone, he needs you,” Zayn suddenly spoke up, making the other three men look up at him.

                “What’s he doing here?” Louis’ voice lowered as he uttered the words under his breath. A frown appeared on his face but Liam put his hand on the older man’s shoulder as if to stop him.

                “Here to see one of my best mates,” Zayn replied, hearing Louis’ words anyway. “Just because I’m not in the group anymore Louis doesn’t mean I can’t check in.”

                “Check in my ass,” Louis growled, turning away to look at Niall on his other side. The younger man looked away, not wanting to be in the middle of whatever fight Louis was about to cause.

                Grace frowned at their words, wondering just what was going on between these four. Louis had cut Niall off as if he was going to say something important, and what was Zayn going on about Harry needing her? If he needed her he wouldn’t have stopped communicating with her just so he could go play around with his new girlfriend. And why did it seem Louis wanted to kill Zayn right now? Hadn’t he left on good terms with the boys?

                Before she could press any of the issues further the door to the room they were sitting outside opened, revealing a tall man in a white lab coat. He looked at Zayn first before eyeing the other three boys and then Grace. “I’ve seen you three before and know who you are, but who is she and when did this one get here?” were the first words out of his mouth.

                “Zayn here is our old bandmate. And she…” Liam gave a half smile to Grace. “She’s a friend of Harry and ours. His girlfriend.” He leaned in closer to her to give the look of closeness. _Payne please…And I’m not his girlfriend anymore, never was! What are these guys doing?_

The doctor shook his head, seeming to be too tired to care about who they were anymore. “Well if that’s the case I do have some news for you all.” He looked down at his clipboard, narrowing his eyes at the information on it. “So we thought Harry here had a minor bump on the head but with the angle the collision it could possibly lead to a more serious problem.”

                _Serious?_ A lump rose in her throat as she leaned on Liam this time for support. This was not happening…

                “Harry could possibly develop retrograde amnesia,” the doctor plainly said, looking at them all with no expression. “Now before you all start yelling at me, no it isn’t a serious case. He hasn’t hurt himself enough for it to be life threatening or-.”

                “That doesn’t make sense though. Harold just slipped up on stage,” Niall’s voice rang out suddenly.

                “I know. I saw. But like I said it isn’t _life threatening_.”

                “What does he remember then?” Liam cut him off again, leaning his chin on Grace’s shoulder.

                “Recent past events but there’s no use in me going into detail. He’ll remember everything by the end of next week. Maybe this week if we’re lucky.”

                “Wait hold on. What do you mean _no use going into detail_? Is he going to remember us?” Louis scratched at his nose as he glanced at Grace and then the other guys, but still ignoring Zayn.

                “He’s been out ever since he got here, but we know for a fact the part of his brain that was damaged is the area that contains memories.”

                “For Christ’s sake…” Niall muttered, suddenly getting up to put his hands on his hips. He let out another frustrated sigh as he ran his hands down his face, shaking his head as he put one hand back on his hip again.

                “I’m sorry about the bad news, but it’s the only news I have right now… We release only certain information to his family, but we’ll be certain to give you all a call if something else comes up.”

                “We _are_ family.” Liam’s voice was demanding. “I think it’s important for us to know too what’s going on with our brother for six years.”

                The other four members nodded in agreement. “We’re going to stay here until he wakes up.” Louis put his head back on the wall, letting out a sigh as if knowing this would be a long night.

                “Do as you wish. He may be out for a few more hours though.” The doctor shrugged before walking back down the hall.

                “Unbelievable…” Louis sighed as he leaned back in his seat as well. Grace looked at him sympathetically before looking up at Zayn.

                “Sorry babe,” the older man whispered to her. He shook his head slowly, coming to crouch down by her, placing his hand over hers. “We’ll still be alright though.”

                It was a movement and words that wanted to make her cry. Just like she couldn’t believe it when Zayn announced he was leaving the band this past winter, just like when she couldn’t believe that Harry loved her when he told her, just like she would never believe how her run in with Harry Styles on one summer afternoon put her in such a whirlwind of events, she never thought she’d be sitting in a hospital with the other members of One Direction, all of them on the verge of a breakdown because of the condition of their best friend, and in her case, the very man she fell in love with.

* * *

 

                Despite trying to wait the night out, both Grace and the other members had to call it quits due to lack of sleep and hunger. They couldn’t fall asleep in a heap on the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the hallway, and Zayn was out of luck on not having a chair, simply sitting on the floor by Grace the entire time. It turned out as well that Liam, Louis and Niall had been at the hospital only a few hours after Harry was admitted.

                “We haven’t got much sleep either,” Liam yawned as the five of them walked down the empty hospital hall together. “If anything, all I want right now is my bed.”

                “I agree.” Niall rubbed at his eyes sleepily from the back of the group.

                “I say we all regroup in the morning?” Liam checked his wrist watch, cringing at the time. “Well… it’s going on 4:00 AM guys…” They all stopped right in front of the entrance of the hospital. “What do you want to do?”

                “How about we all just get some rest and call each other whenever we get up? We can make plans once everyone has eaten and got some shut eye?” Niall offered.

                “Not a bad idea.” Louis nodded, turning to look at Grace before his eyes shifted over to Zayn briefly. “You guys like the idea?” he asked, this time including Zayn but only looking at Grace.

                She nodded, looking back at Zayn to make him feel included. “Fine by me,” he muttered, his eyes still on Louis.

                _God what happened between these two?_ She frowned and turned away from him, raising her eyebrows at Liam. He met her eyes but looked away shortly after, giving his head a shake.

                “Well, we’ll _all_ stay in contact,” she said, pointedly looking at Louis even though she had no idea what was going on. “We have contact with the hospital here too, right?”

                “Yeah they have mine and Tommo’s number.” Liam nodded at Louis. “We’ll give you or Zayn a ring if we hear anything new.”

                She nodded again, suddenly feeling like crying again from how overwhelming this whole situation was. “Alright… thanks guys.”

                “If you need us, I’ll text you the address to the hotel we’re staying in,” Zayn said, putting his arm around her shoulder. It was a move that had Louis’ eyes narrowing and Niall raising his eyebrows, but Grace could care less. She needed all the comfort in the world right now.

                “Yeah… you do that.” Louis’ voice almost came out as mocking and cynical but he was turning away from them both and headed out the door. “I’ll text you the address to the hotel us lot are staying in as well.”

                Liam gave both Grace and Zayn a look of apology before slapping Niall’s shoulder in a signal of departure. The two older men waved them goodbye before both she and Zayn headed out of the door as well. “You’re gonna be alright,” Zayn said again as he walked her to the black Escalade still waiting for them. He rubbed her shoulder gently, almost like Harry would when he was trying to make her feel better.

                _Harry…_ she let out a defeated sigh. Yeah, Zayn was trying his best to make her feel better but he was no Harry. Nothing made her feel better than Harry’s hugs and the way he’d give her the most reassuring smile when he knew she was down. He’d try and tell her bad, childish jokes to make her laugh, or be a complete snuggle bunny like he had been just before he flew out for his world tour. She couldn’t imagine a life without him, and after the doctor’s words today she was scared. Scared she’d never get the Harry back she loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I know it's sad but don't cry guys! You always know I'm not so mean when I write scenes like these, so keep those chins up!  
> As for next update you all will be introduced to a very special guest (well more like character), but will nonetheless love as much you do our two favorites. Even though it may be sad now, keep that in mind _and_ I have quite the surprise for you guys next week :). With both of those in mind, thank you all for reading and leaving your lovely comments/kudos! As you know, they're always appreciated and I couldn't possibly thank you enough for the support you give this story. Thank you again and see you all next update! It'll be here before you know it :)


	14. Stay With Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of the week is _surprisingly_ here and as I said, the next update would come faster than expected ha, but for a good reason. In order for me to get you guys the amount of updates I'm planning on this week I'm going to shift the "schedule" a bit since I'm going to my date of the OTRA concert this Tuesday (I'M SO EXCITED!!!!). I _really_ want to give you guys three updates this week so I'll really try my hardest to make that happen even if there are a bit longer than usual waiting gaps between each update.
> 
> With that little message out of the way, you all will be introduced to a very special guest today that's pretty darn important to the other boys, especially to Harry. Happy reading!

                Grace’s mind never stopped running after the big news with Harry, but despite her constant worries and streams of thoughts she managed to get some amount of sleep. She wanted the morning to come as quickly as possible, but at the same time she wished it would never come. What if the doctors had more bad news?

                “You’re worrying too much,” Zayn insisted as they both walked into the hospital together in the late afternoon of the next day. Since they didn’t get back and situated in their new hotel room until around five in the morning, they had slept all the way until the early afternoon with Grace waking up before Zayn. The older man slept like a log in the bed next to hers, and she didn’t want to disturb him since she already knew he was crankier than Harry when awoken.

                “You really think it’ll be alright?” She looked back at him, trying to gauge his mood. Zayn was quiet and didn’t show his true feelings on his face nor express them so she was always left in the dark on how he felt until he flat out said it.

                “Yeah. If anyone can pull through, it’s Harry. He’s a strong guy despite how he acts.” He gave her a reassuring smile. She wasn’t sure if he actually believed it himself, but for now she’d agree with him. _You’ve got to stay optimistic Grace. Stay positive._

                “Oh Miss Evergreen! Zayn!”

                Grace looked away from him at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and at an older woman waving at them from up the hall. She had no idea who the woman was, but she did look a tad bit familiar. _How the heck does she know my name? She could be a fan but she’s a bit older…_

                “Hey Mum!” Zayn waved at the woman.

                _Mum?_ Grace raised her eyebrows, knowing good and well this wasn’t Zayn’s mother. She then began to connect the dots slowly. _This must be one of the other guy’s parents but who?_

“How’s it going?” She gave him a brief hug, smiling despite everything that was going on.

                “Fine I suppose.” He turned back to look at Grace, beckoning her over with a toss of his head as if to tell her everything was alright. “Grace this is Harry’s mum! Anne, this is Grace-”

                “I know who she is Z!” She playfully hit his chest before turning to Grace to give her a smile. “I know that sounds weird and all dear but before we get into details, it’s nice to meet you!”

“Hi Mrs. Styles; it’s nice to meet you too,” she barely got out, trying to just relax. If Harry were here, he’d have the right words for her, but now she’d have to calm herself down. She never thought she’d be meeting Harry’s mom so soon, but it made sense that she’d be here to check in on her son. _Wait… why am I so nervous? It’s not like Harry, and I are engaged and we’re trying to get approval to get married but… I still want to make a good impression even though we are just friends._

                Both Anne and Zayn exchanged looks before she laughed quietly, simply saying, “You can just call me Anne dear. No use to be so formal, I’m just Harry’s mum after all!”

                “Ok Miss Anne…” she let out a breath, letting her nervousness melt away. _She’s just a person like everyone else… Relax._

                “She’s polite like that. You can’t talk it out of her.” Zayn smiled down at Grace as if excusing her behavior. “But anyway, how’s Harry doing?”

                “He woke up for a bit late this morning! They barely let me in to see him but he has this huge bandage on the side of his head!” She shook her head. “They said they’ve been stitching him up while he’s out and they’ll put him under for a little bit more to finish up, so he should be ready to go home soon. Such great news, isn’t it?”

                Grace let out a sigh of relief at the news. _At least it wasn’t anything serious that popped up overnight._ “What about the amnesia part though?” she asked, still worried about what the doctor had said last night.

                “Oh that… They’re still saying it’s no big deal so it’ll clear up soon. It’s nothing that’s going to impact his life. That’s a miracle isn’t it? So don’t worry, he’ll remember you…” She pointed to Zayn first, before turning back to her, “and _you!_ So don’t you worry!”

                _This is clearly the woman that raised Harry… She’s so cheery despite the situation._ She nodded her head, Anne’s words nearly automatically making her feel better. Zayn raised his eyebrows at her as if saying _told you so._ She simply playfully rolled her eyes at him, trying to still get her regular mood back.

                “Sorry about all of this,” Anne suddenly apologized, the smile leaving her face.

                “It’s not your fault Miss Anne.” Grace pushed a stray strand of brown hair out of her face.

“Just Anne’s alright,” she said, looking at Zayn once again. “Yeah but I’m sure you weren’t expecting to fly all the way from little LA for Harry in the middle of your career.”

                “It really is fine. I can’t just sit around back there when Harry’s in this type of state.” _That’s what friends are for… I couldn’t just leave him alone like this. Speaking of which, where is his girlfriend? As much as I rather not think about her, she should be here too…_

                “Hmm…” She laughed to herself, smiling once again. She then added in a lower tone, “No wonder Harry’s so crazy about you.”

                Grace raised her eyebrows once again in surprise. Harry talked about her to his mom? Did he have good things to say or was he possibly annoyed at her after they moved out and had something bad to say?

                “Relax dear, I know all about you and him. Harry’s told me everything.” She laughed at Grace’s facial expression. “He absolutely adores you, and I can see why.”

                “Grace’s a good girl; we all adore her.” Zayn nudged her arm briefly.

                “Well… thank you,” she said, not quite knowing what to say. _Harry’s told her_ everything _? What exactly is_ everything _?_

Just as she was about to say more, her phone began to ring in her pocket. She excused herself from them both, noticing the call was from Louis. “It’s Lou,” she told Zayn before taking the call.

                “Hey, good morning love,” Louis got out before she could say hi first.

                “It’s four in the afternoon Louis, it’s anything but morning,” she laughed a little. He seemed to be back in his regular mood regardless of the fact of wanting to get into a verbal fight with Zayn last night.

                “Yeah, same difference,” he laughed back. “Anyway, what are you up to? Payno and Nialler are still sleep, but I saw you left a voicemail.”

                _His morning… well waking up voice is so hot,_ she couldn’t help to think but corrected herself. “Zayn and I are at the hospital right now with Miss Anne.”

                “Miss Anne?” Louis cut her off before she could finish.

                “Harry’s mom, Anne.” She rolled her eyes, letting out a breath as she turned to look at Zayn and Anne still talking to one another. Zayn was watching her curiously, only giving her a slight smile when he was caught staring at her. She waved at him before turning back to the wall again to focus on her conversation with Louis.

                “You’re such a doll, you really are.” She could hear the sound of bedsheets rustling on his side of the line as he perhaps sat up in bed or changed positions. “How’s she? How’s Harry?”

                “They’re both fine. I think Harry’s condition is stable right now and there’s no more bad news at least.”

                “Good, good.” He was quiet for a moment before he sighed quietly. “Man, Grace I’m so sorry all this happened,” he said in a rushed breath.

                “Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault this happened.” She frowned. _Why is everyone apologizing about what happened to Harry?_

“Yeah but… I feel like it could have been prevented. We knew Harry was dealing with some rough stuff… it’s… We could’ve helped him. This could have been stopped.” He then paused again before continuing. “Sorry I said too much.”

                “What do you mean rough stuff?” she pressed. These guys were hiding too much from her and she hated to be outside of the loop, especially when it came to Harry.

                “Sometimes Grace things have to stay in the band, I’m sorry. It’s not my place to tell you anything Harry hasn’t. I’m sorry love. I really am.”

                Shaking her head she turned to face Anne and Zayn again, this time leaning her back on the wall. “Is there anything I can do to help though?” she tried. Helping Harry in any way she could was something she needed to do; she felt it deep down in her heart.

                “Just… stay with him. Please. You’re more important than you think Grace,” were Louis’ last words to her before a doctor emerged from Harry’s room to tell Anne and Zayn some new news. She watched their facial expressions, trying to pick out if it was good or bad news, but neither of their expressions changed. The doctor seemed to be explaining something in depth as she used hand motions to help the family and friend of her patient understand.

                “I will,” she said quietly, knowing more than anyone else she’d never leave Harry’s side for anything. Never in a million years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Next update, you'll finally see someone you might've been waiting on all along! As always, thank you for reading, and thank you to those who leave your lovely comments and kudos as well as subs/bookmarks. See you next update!


	15. Moving In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the mid week update as promised! The concert didn't wear me out _too_ much ha (In fact it only made me even more excited about writing this story). Happy reading! I believe you'll be very delighted with this update.

                Grace was finally allowed to see Harry a good week and a half after she and Zayn touched down in London. The whole wait was simply killing her, and she hated to just hear stories from either Zayn or Liam on how he was doing. Even though he was supposed to be visited by family only, it seemed the boys found a way to still check in on him.

                “He’s going to be so happy you’re here,” Zayn commented as he dropped her off outside of the hospital the afternoon she received the all clear to visit her friend.

                The thought alone made her smile to herself as she unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed her purse. Luckily, Harry’s amnesia affects weren’t even serious and had cleared in a matter of days. He sometimes got confused a little bit, but all in all she heard that he remembered mostly everything. “You told him I was here?”

                “Well… he kinda asked about you. So yeah.” Zayn smiled back at her but looked away as if he was hiding something. He rested his wrists on the steering wheel, letting out a light laugh. “You two are literally the cutest…” he said under his breath, looking like a work of art in the orange afternoon sun. “But anyway sweetheart, get in there and see about him! I didn’t tell him you were coming today exactly, so surprise him!”

                “Aren’t you coming?” She raised her eyebrows at him as she put her hand on the car door handle.

                He shook his head no. “Me and the others saw him enough this week. I think it’s time for you and Harry to have some alone time.”

                _Leave it to Zayn to try and make it seem like we’re a couple._ Without getting into it with him, she nodded, opening the door and promising she’d be back before he knew it.

                “Take your time!” He yelled after her as she headed into the building, chuckling to himself. “Take your dear sweet time…” he muttered more to himself before she shut the door behind her.

                _These boys really get a kick out of Harry and I._ She sighed as she walked down the hall to Harry’s room, trying to get her sudden nervousness down. She hadn’t seen Harry in person in months, let alone talked to him in over a week. She knew Zayn just said he would be delighted to see her but she couldn’t help but to feel anxious. _Relax Grace, he's your best friend. Why are you so worked up?_

                She gently pushed the sliding door to his room open with the palm of her hand and closed it gently behind her, letting her anxiety go as she thought about all the fun she and Harry used to have. Hopefully he wasn’t sleeping or had another visitor, but him calling out to her behind the lilac privacy curtains reduced that fear immediately.

                “Who is it?” His voice was deep and raspy, just like when he left her nearly a month ago in LA.

                _He still sounds good..._ She sucked in air before gently gripping the curtains to pull them back. “It’s me Harry, Grace.”

                He raised his eyebrows at her when she revealed herself before he started to frown, his eyes first going to study her whole body before studying her face. “Grace?”

                What felt like a stone sinking in her stomach hit her hard. _Does he not remember me? Zayn said he remembered everything else just fine? Why not me? God are we going to have to start all over again?_

                It took Harry only a matter of moments to bust into a full grin, laughing just a bit at her. “Gracie your reactions are always priceless.”

                “Harry you jerk...” she halfway growled at him, half happy half irritated at his choice of a joke at this moment. “I thought you had forgotten all about me! You had me worried!”

                “Of course not! Out of anyone, I’d never ever forget you.” The smile stayed on his face as he motioned for her to sit in the guest chair near his bed.

                “So... How are you?” she asked quietly as she sat down, finally getting a good look at him at a closer angle. Despite being in the hospital for nearly two weeks he seemed to be doing fine. His skin was smooth, his eyes bright and his hair was still soft and fluffy. All in all, he seemed to be doing alright. She had honestly expected some of his hair to be shaven so the doctors could apply stitches, but nothing was in disarray besides the bandage on the left side of his forehead.

                “Pretty good for someone who fainted on stage,” he laughed, seeming to not be phased at all by any of this. _Just like Harry_... “Head still hurts a bit, but I’m alright,” he added in a more serious tone. “How are you though? I’m surprised to see you out here.”

                _Worried sick about you..._ “I’ve been alright too. Mostly worried about you,” she said honestly. If anything, she wanted to be more open and honest with him from now on.

                “I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to make you worry... Or fly out here for me.” Harry’s face dropped a bit at her words. He was always the one that was a worrywart about her, but now that the tables were flipped he seemed very apologetic.

                “It’s ok Harry, it really is. I mean, I couldn’t just not come see about you. We’re so close to each other after all… It would be weird if I didn’t show up. I had to make sure you were alright too.”

                He smiled gently at her then, as if touched by her words. “Thanks Gracie. It really means a lot that you’re here.” He looked away from her briefly, going to scratch at the skin just below his bandage before he went to pick at the actual bandage itself.

                “Are you trying to stay here longer?” she scolded him, narrowing her eyes as he pulled out a long, white string, flicking it onto the floor with his long fingers.

                He shrugged, watching the string fall on the other side of the bed. “Well tour is pretty much cancelled for now so there isn’t much to do. And you know our new album is out so we’re not writing right now, but I’d rather be back at home, in LA... ” He then looked over at her, his eyes nearly twinkling with excitement like a child. “You know I get to leave tomorrow right? After they give me some more meds and some prescription or something they said I could go back home.”

                “Well that’s great!” _Looks like he won’t be staying as long as I thought._ “Well not the tour part, but that you’ll get to go home.”

                “Tour can wait... I love my job and all but we all need breaks.” He let out a sigh, going back to bothering his bandage. “But... They said when they sent me home they wanted me to stay supervised. Not like a constant watch but... You know?” He raised his eyebrows dramatically in question. “They don’t want me doing things on my own just yet.”

                “So you’re kind of bedridden?”

                “Exactly!” Harry let out a sigh, pulling out another string from his bandage. “Thing is, I haven’t told them who is staying with me so they can’t discharge me yet. They’re weird and strict about it.”

                “Well what about Natasha,” she ventured, knowing good and well she should be the one to stay and take care of Harry, but she still felt slightly uncomfortable hanging out with him while he was taken. _Speaking of her, why isn’t she here with Harry right now? Has she seen about him?_

               He blew out of his mouth, looking annoyed. “No, not her. We kinda got into a fight...” he trailed off, not finishing his sentence. He shook his head and turned to face her before asking, “What about you Gracie? Are you busy with anything this month?”

               “I’m not. I quit my job,” she said quietly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear in embarrassment. It was true, she hadn’t written her resignation letter out yet, but she was going to quit. Her boss was too bossy and into her life. Who cared if she hung out with Harry or not? It was absolutely none of his business and his son was a pushy creep. She had to get his number blocked ages ago for spamming her phone with rude text messages.

                “What? Why? You made a great model!” Harry sat up fast in bed in shock, immediately cringing and lying back down on his pillows. “Fuck…”

                “Hey, careful, careful!” She pulled the white sheets back over him while he nodded in thanks, gripping his head. “The boss was a jackass. He was all riled up over me being with you when it’s none of his business.”

                “Oh… I understand... I’m sorry,” he said softly, studying her face for a moment before turning away. “So... Can I ask you something?”

                She nodded, shifting her position in her seat. What he said next she wasn’t expecting at all, but it was something she had always wanted to hear.

                “This is sudden but... Would you move back in with me? Just for this?”

                It sent tingles all over her body with how he was looking at her, his expression unreadable but his eyes nearly pleading. It was like the time he had begged her to stay over with him last month, where she couldn’t possibly tell this man no.

                She nodded again before mouthing a yes, watching as Harry’s lips curled into a pleasant yet gentle smile. For some reason, it seemed like he was nearly desperate to have her around, but she didn’t mind. She needed Harry in her life as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some of you guys must be pretty damn excited that your two favorites are moving back in together again! What could possibly await them now?


	16. Stuck In The Middle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last and final update of the week is here as promised! This time, you'll meet someone that might've had you wondering where on earth they were all this time when Harry needed them the most. Nevertheless, this is an exciting chapter and I hope you all enjoy! Happy reading!

                Luckily for both Grace and Harry, he was discharged the next day as promised. His mom had met them both on the same day, asking if he was going to stay in London but he happily told her he was heading back to LA with Grace.

                _“Yeah Mum, Gracie and I are gonna head back to LA,” he said calmly, looking away from his mom to look over at Grace with a smile that could light up the whole night sky._

                She had felt a little embarrassed with letting Harry’s mom know that they would be living in the same house together again. She knew Anne liked her and understood the situation, she just found it awkward to be telling Harry’s mom she’d be sleeping under the same roof every night as her son. Was she really ok with her being so close to Harry?

                Anne wasn’t opposed to it though as she bid them off, giving Grace a sense of relief. Everything had gone good so far, from letting Zayn and the other boys know she was heading back with Harry, to flying back to LA without getting chased or bothered by the paps, and then to moving a few of her things back over to Harry’s condo. For some reason everything felt right in the world again and she certainly felt like she was back at home. Their old routine started back up again gradually, where they’d cook for each other and Harry would make bad jokes where Grace would laugh out of sympathy but unfortunately their old routine did consist of a bit of bickering back and forth. Once they were back in sync with one another though, everything went on without a hitch until _she_ arrived.

                It had been a little over a week since Harry was discharged, and he and Grace had started living together when there was a knock at the door. Grace wouldn’t leave her dog over at her parent’s place so the big Lab was back at Harry’s and back on his job of alerting them of visitors.

                “I’ve got it,” she said as she got up from the sofa she and Harry had been sitting on together as they watched some show together, not allowing him to answer his own door. She had been guilty of babying him to fulfill his doctor’s orders, but she just couldn’t stand for him to hurt himself again, even though he was in the comfort of his own home. It was terrifying to just think about Harry being injured again.

                She checked the monitor by his door as usual, noticing he had upgraded it since her last visit. The video was crisper and clearer, showing her a blonde was waiting outside his front door. Her stomach instantly dropped when she saw the face; she knew exactly who this was.

                “Uhm Harry… know any blonde women?” she asked, cringing on the inside. _Why did this have to happen now? And why did she suddenly decide to show up now out of all times?_

                “Yeah…” he trailed off, looking over his shoulder at her. “Lots…” He then frowned a bit, letting out a sigh as he stood up. “Maybe _I_ should get the door,” he playfully said, touching her shoulder gently as he walked by to check the monitor out. There was no change in his facial expression as he simply went to the door, opening it just to where his shoulders filled the frame.

                “Come here Happy,” she whispered as she retrieved the dog from behind Harry without being seen. Last thing she needed was for him to wiggle past Harry’s legs and jump on their visitor.

                “Afternoon ‘Tasha,” Harry greeted his girlfriend, crossing his leg behind the other at the ankle. “What brings you here?”

                Grace sat back down on the sofa, holding Happy’s collar as she listened in on their conversation. Harry seemed to be standoffish with his shoulders tense, and voice low and steady, completely the opposite of how he treated and acted around her. He wasn’t scared to just be himself, even if it consisted of the weird things he’d do around the house. _Just why are these two together,_ she couldn’t help but to think at how awkward this was. Harry had complained to her twice already about Natasha, but she never told him how she really felt about the woman: how she was practically using him for his money. Then again, the two of them rarely got a chance to talk since his accident since Harry was so hooked up on his meds he was always in and out of sleep, eating or being helped to the bathroom on the first few days. Besides, it wasn’t any of her business on how or why the two of them were together, but she couldn’t help but to have a really bad vibe about Natasha.

                “Heard you were back in town and we need to talk.” Her voice was quick, high pitched and to the point. She sounded a bit snooty and absolutely demanding when she spoke to him and Grace didn’t like it. She wasn’t the nice, caring girl Grace thought Harry deserved instead.

                “You haven’t talked to me in a month Natasha. We had plenty of time to talk then.”

                “This conversation needed to be face to face.”

                “Well I’m kind of busy right now. Think you can stop by at a later date?” Harry seemed irritated now, his voice dropping even lower.

                “No, Harry. Now is the time.” She pushed past him into his condo, allowing Grace a chance to finally see the woman in person. She was tall, slim, and blonde, just like all of Harry’s ex-girlfriends. She didn’t have a particularly pretty face, not to Grace at least, but Harry had to at least think she was somewhat beautiful to date her.

                _“You know… the past doesn’t have to keep repeating itself.”_ She bit her lip when she remembered Zayn’s words from the past. It was good advice at the time, but she wasn’t sure if it was now. _There’s a reason Harry’s dating her and not me. This is what he wants. Not me._

                “Oh!” The older woman noticed her on the couch when Happy let out a large bark at her, getting right back up to his paws. She narrowed her eyes at her before looking back at Harry. “You didn’t tell me you had _company_ , Harry.”

                “You’re the _company_ , not her,” Harry backed Grace up, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned on the back of the sofa on the opposite side of her. Grace couldn’t help but to feel even more uncomfortable with the way Harry was backing her up instead of his own girlfriend, but he didn’t seem to think it was a problem. “Anyway, Grace this is Natasha. ‘Tasha this is Grace.”

                Natasha let out a snort, not even bothering to greet the younger woman. She did a quick scan of Grace, narrowing her eyes as she mentally compared herself. “So _this_ is what you try to replace me with?”

                Grace held in her breath, realizing this was going to turn into a huge fight in a matter of seconds and she was right in the middle of it. _This was such a bad idea to be hanging out with Harry… I’m the cause of him getting yelled at… We should’ve never done the things we did._

“Stop making Gracie sound like she’s a nobody. And I’m not replacing anything. Gracie’s my friend, she has a right to hang out with me if she wants to. Nothing’s wrong with a male and female platonic relationship.”

                “There’s a difference between hanging out and _sleeping with_ someone’s boyfriend!” She shot back, rolling her eyes hard at Harry before turning to Grace, crossing her arms across her chest as well. “And this slut doesn’t seem to know the difference between the two.”

                “Hey! Watch it!” Harry raised his voice to defend Grace yet again but she was quicker than him in protecting her own self.

                “I’m not a _slut_!” She stood to her feet, immediately letting go of Happy’s collar. “What right do you have to just barge in here with these accusations like some lunatic?” she shot right back.

                “Lunatic?” Natasha laughed, flipping her long hair and raising her eyebrows in an aggressive gesture. “If anyone is a lunatic it’s you bitch.”

                Grace let out a half snort, half laugh before continuing. “If you knew anything about being in this industry and dating Harry you’d know the media makes up lies about anything. Did you even _ask_ Harry what really happened or are you jumping to conclusions?” She narrowed her eyes, taking in a breath before continuing. “And why did you all of a sudden decide to show up now when you should have had your ass back in London when he was in the hospital? Where were you then, huh?”

                The older woman let out a weak laugh, going to counter Grace but she wasn’t quite done telling her off yet.

                “I know women like you,” she lowered her voice to nearly a growl, stalking up to the older woman like an enraged lioness. “ _You_ ,” she emphasized, putting her index finger nearly in her face. “…are only here for the money. You don’t give two cents about Harry unless he’s buying you something. You’re scared that now that I’m here, he’s going to drop your ass because you’re up to no good anyway. If you really were into him, if you really did care about him, you would’ve been the first person there at the hospital for him, not me!”

                She hadn’t meant to say so much, she hadn’t meant to butt into Harry and Natasha’s relationship at all but everyone has a breaking point. She felt her ear tips burning in both rage and nervousness at the way Natasha was staring at her like she wanted to kill her.

                And unfortunately the older blonde acted on it.

                The lunge came faster than she anticipated, but she was ready to counter the slap to the face coming her way. Grace wasn’t a boxer, but she knew how to hold her own in self-defense.

                “Jesus Christ,” she heard Harry mutter in the background just before she pushed Natasha up against the kitchen counter as hard as she could while the older blonde grabbed her hair, deciding to go with cheap tactics. It wasn’t much of a fight, hell, it only lasted for a few seconds before Harry jumped in and broke it up, his strength overpowering both Natasha’s will to scratch Grace’s eyes out and Grace’s will to simply defend herself.

                “That’s enough!” He shoved his girlfriend away from Grace with his shoulder. Natasha grabbed the front of his shirt as he pushed her away, causing the fabric to tear and the buttons to cascade down on the wooden floor with various clatters. “Get the fuck out of my house right now. We’re fucking over,” he growled at her over Happy’s intensified barking at the commotion.

                “Harry?” Natasha started, her voice shaking at the end as if she was suddenly scared.

                “I said, _GET OUT_!” His deep voice echoed off the walls of the condo, sending a chill down Grace’s spine. She had seen Harry angry before when she used to aggravate him unintentionally, but she had never ever seen him get this mad. It was absolutely terrifying to stand behind him when he seemed so upset that steam might come out of his ears.

                “Fine! I knew you were just like what they all said you were when I dated you! How you’re a cheating douchebag and you fuck anything that’s female!” Natasha let out a sob, snatching her purse up off the ground where it had fallen. “I didn’t want to be with you anyway!” She grabbed something off of his kitchen counter and threw it right into his chest. The object shattered when it hit the ground before she glared at Grace. “And you! You’re no better than him you boyfriend stealer!”

                Her words were cut off short by a loud snarl from Happy, the elderly Labrador fed up with all the screaming and tension in the room. The big dog was no Rottweiler or Doberman, but his protection instincts did kick in when he felt his owner was at risk. Natasha took one look at the snarling dog as he approached her with teeth bared before fleeing the room, the big dog bounding right after her.

                “Happy no!” Grace screamed, running after her dog to stop him. The last thing she wanted was for the woman to press legal charges for a dog attack, but Harry grabbed her wrist, jerking her to a stop.

                “Forget it. It’s whatever. Are you ok?” His voice came out rushed as he made her turn to face him, one hand automatically going to stroke her cheek.

                “Harry he’s going to bite her I-”

                “I said forget it,” he snapped, his eyes never leaving hers. He seemed so concerned with the way his eyebrows furrowed and how hard his green eyes were in the afternoon light, it made her stop completely. “Are you ok?”

                She nodded, feeling like crying after the rush of events. It was too much to go from a calm afternoon of watching TV with Harry, playing a game of who could catch the most popcorn in their mouth, to getting into an argument and fight with his psycho girlfriend. _Well,_ ex _-girlfriend. “_ Yeah… It’s… I’m ok.”

                He didn’t seem convinced, shaking his head at her. “I’m so sorry,” he simply said before quickly hugging her. “Just, stay here please. I’ll get Happy. Just stay here.” He then rushed off, heading out the door to hopefully find Happy before he chewed a hole in Natasha.

                _God we don’t belong together…_ Grace let out a sigh, turning towards the kitchen counter to find strands of both her and Natasha’s hair on the floor. She was careful to step around the broken glass of the object she had thrown at Harry, wanting nothing more than to reverse time. Even though she did love Harry very much, it seemed like everything they did together caused nothing but trouble from day one.

                _Is it a sign we don’t belong together or is it a test to see what we can really withstand?_ She looked up from the broken glass to notice something she had never noticed before on Harry’s mantle near the front door. It was a picture of them both at the beach last summer when an old woman asked if they wanted a picture together. Harry had his arm around her shoulder in what she thought was simply a friendly gesture back then, but now that she looked at it, it had to be something a little more with the way his head was turned towards her in the photo, his lips just barely making contact with her cheek in a kissing gesture.

                _Why does he have this in plain sight in his house?_ She glanced towards the front door, making sure he wasn’t coming back before she walked closer to the picture. She had the very first picture she and Harry took together on her phone as her wallpaper, but this was something different. This was saying she meant much more to Harry than she ever thought.

                _We need to talk about this…_ She let out a sigh, running her fingers through her hair. Even without talking to Zayn about it anymore, she knew now that Harry most definitely without a doubt had feelings for her. He just hadn’t told her yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So is the truth _finallyyyyyyy_ going to get out or are these two going to keep lying to one another? Tune in to the next update to see if our two favorites finally get it out there that they have feelings for one another! This next update is something you won't want to miss so if you haven't already, hit that subscribe button so you'll be alerted as soon as it's out. As always, thank you for reading, thank you for all your support you've shown this story and thank you for all your comments/kudos/subs. I wouldn't be able to finish this story without you. See you next update!


	17. Photograph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's that update you've all been waiting on! This has to be my second favorite chapter in this book to write so far and to read myself so I know most, if not all, of you will love it! There's a surprise appearance from one of the special guests in this story that some of you also might like! But that's enough of me talking, go ahead and enjoy the chapter that'll put a huge smile on your face. Happy reading!

                Grace could barely sleep last night with all her thoughts running in what seemed like every direction. Last night after Harry had brought Happy back, she had to get him back in bed. He wasn’t supposed to be quite as active yet, and she didn’t want him to end up right back in the hospital again. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the picture she saw or about how he really felt about her, but it was really nagging at her to know the truth.

_Why hadn’t I seen it sooner? How he always wanted me to sleep with him in the same bed? How he always picked me over Natasha? How he kissed me all those times… He’s always liked me… Why was I too blind to see it?_

_But if Harry liked me so much, why hadn’t he just told me? But wait... He did... Back in late September when he helped me move in he told me he loved me but... He couldn't have actually meant that?_

                “Hey earth to Gracie... Earth to Gracie.” Harry’s large hand came across her face several times in an attempt to snap her out of her thoughts.

                “Hmm? What? I’m sorry Harry,” she sighed while shaking her head at his kitchen table. It was turning into late evening, but Harry decided he wanted to talk to her about something face to face at the table instead of the living room.

                “You’re so weird,” he laughed in a teasing way, making her frown at him. _You’re one to talk Styles_. “Anyway… I was just thinking, would you like to go out later? Clear our minds a bit?”

                Grace looked at him suspiciously, wondering what he was trying to pull. He had this look on his face like he was plotting something and she didn’t like it. _Well maybe he really does want to get out of the house,_ she thought quietly as she looked away from him as he drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. _We haven't been out for real since we flew in from London… It might be nice to get out of here…_

                “Don’t look at me like that.” He frowned at her playfully before relaxing his face. “I mean... I don’t know I just thought we could get out together. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

                “No we can do it.” She watched as he tried to contain his happiness but at this rate she could read Harry like a book. He was literally beaming at her response.

                “Well I already picked a place out for us. Just dress in something comfortable and we can meet here when we’re done.”

                She nodded at him, getting up from the table first. All she could think about as she headed to her room was how this was so much like the old days, and honestly that thought made her smile for the first time since all of the drama last night.

* * *

 

                Grace could remember back to a time when she was nervous to leave the house with Harry. She hated the pangs of anxiety she’d get, not from being with him, but just the fear of being chased around by the nutty paparazzi. When Harry pulled his Range Rover into an empty spot off the side of the street she felt like sweating bullets despite having gone on a date with him once after their split. She didn’t know what it was, but perhaps with Natasha gone and with the fact they weren’t faking all of it felt like the real deal.

                “Gracie.”

                She looked over into the driver’s seat when Harry called her name softly, trying to control her breathing. She already knew where he was going with this.

                “How long have you known me?” He turned the truck off, handing her the keys as usual.

                “Almost a year.”

                “It’s been almost a year of me keeping you safe. Don’t worry about a thing. As long as I'm here, you’re alright. They won’t pap us, they won’t bother us.”

                Grace knew he was just trying to make her feel better since it was a high chance that they’d get caught together, but the way he said it with such confidence made her feel slightly better. Knowing Harry wouldn’t leave until she gave the ok, she nodded.

                He gently put his hand over hers in her lap, telling her one last time it’ll be ok and to just relax before he climbed out of his side of the car to come over and get her door. She stepped out after him, still trying to figure out where on earth he was taking her instead. He called it some _surprise_ all the way here, never giving in when she tried to persuade or trick him into telling her.

                “You’ll just love it,” he simply commented again as he paid the meter before leading her down the sidewalk towards a throng of people. Grace wasn’t afraid of crowds, but being with Harry in a crowd could turn really ugly really fast.

                _Just breathe_ , she kept telling herself as they got closer and closer. Despite thinking he’d lead them both into the crowd of people, he made a wide circle around them to bring the both of them to an area where white lawn chairs were set up facing a small stage.

                “What’s the special occasion?” She asked when Harry picked out a few seats near the middle and along the outer aisle. “You know you’re going to have to tell me now.”

                “You sure are pushy.” He glanced over at her, as he pulled a sheet of paper with brightly colored print out of his pocket to hand to her after they sat down. “I don’t know... I just thought I’d surprise you,” he continued as she looked at the paper. He then added in a lower tone as he watched her curiously, “Last night was rough on both of us.”

                She looked up from the paper to look at him, not knowing to be more excited that this was a free and private Ed Sheeran concert or that Harry was being this nice. “Yeah... It was.” They fell into a moment of silence but Grace filled it, not wanting to linger on the topic for too long. “I’m sorry about all of that Harry.”

                “Why are you apologizing?” He raised his eyebrows. “If anyone should apologize it should be _her_.” He sighed and looked away, his mouth slightly drooping at the corners. “And me too maybe. I created this whole mess to begin with.”

                “You didn’t create anything Harry.” She tried to get him to look at her, but his eyes were fixed on the back of the chair in front of them as if he was deep in thought. “Stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault.”

                “It kinda is though...” he trailed off, shaking his head. His voice was just barely above a whisper as he uttered his next sentence, “But some things I can’t tell you in public... Some things I can’t even tell you yet.”

                She frowned at him, wondering what he meant but by the time she got her words together to ask him what he was going on about, an announcer was on the stage announcing that Ed would be out soon.

                “Well let’s just have fun.” Grace smiled at him, not wanting to relive last night again. She wanted more than anything to grab his hand in his lap but she knew she couldn’t. Harry wasn't off limits anymore, but it just didn’t feel right. “Thanks for bringing me out here.”

                “Yeah. You’re welcome Gracie.” He returned the smile just as Ed came out, waving at everyone and telling them thank you. The red head seated himself in a wooden chair behind a microphone stand, sitting his guitar in a comfortable position on his lap as he started off the first song of the night.

                “Oh I love this song!” Grace couldn’t help but exclaim. She hadn’t told Harry about it yet, but she had found Ed Sheeran’s music through seeing them both hang out with one another when she was just a fan years ago. She was instantly hooked, loving how his smooth voice complimented the melodies of all his songs. He had to be one of the few artists that she liked every single song on their album.

                Harry simply nodded his head, still seeming to be halfway in his thoughts as Ed continued strumming his guitar and singing into the mic. “It is a great song.”

                “… And they say, she’s in the class A Team, stuck in her daydream…” Ed gripped the mic with one hand, his eyes drifting through the various faces in the audience until they abruptly came to a rest on first Harry then Grace. He gave a small smile into the mic, nodding over in their direction in recognition before he focused back on his music.

                The concert continued on for about an hour, Ed finishing up with one of Grace’s personal favorites, _Lego House_. She had managed to get Harry out of his sudden gloomy mood from mentioning Natasha earlier when he performed _Don’t_ , and ever since then he hadn’t stopped singing right into her ear on half of the songs and attempting to dance to a few of the faster songs.

                “And it’s dark in a cold December, but I've got you to keep me warm!” He half sung, half yelled as fast he could right into her ear on the very last verses of the song.

                “If you’re broken I will mend you and I'll keep you sheltered from the storm that’s raging on,” she yelled right back at him, but couldn’t help but to laugh at his antics. When she looked away from him at the very end of the song she caught Ed smirking at them both as he finished up the song, probably just as amused as they both were with each other.

                There was a massive applause when he finished, Harry being one of the loudest ones as he whistled and started yelling about what a great show it was. Grace elbowed him right above his hip, not wanting to attract much attention to themselves but it was too late as a few people turned around and looked at him, their eyebrows raising in recognition.

                “We’re here to have fun! Relax!” He turned to face her when he was done shouting, ignoring the few people that were still staring at him. Luckily for them both, no one approached, but she was still wary as people began to leave the area since a few of them looked like they might come over. “So… would you like to hear what’s next on the agenda tonight?”

                “Harry you know you’re still supposed to be resting,” she tried but he just made a face at her before launching into a story about how _fine_ he was.

                “Gracie I feel better than ever! Where they stitched me up has almost healed and I’m mostly off of my meds. It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve been out of the hospital anyway. I healed up there mostly, remember?”

                “Harry…” She frowned at him, knowing he could be as stubborn as a mule when it came to situations like this. As much as she did want to hang out with him longer, his well-being was more important.

                “I’ll get some rest as soon as we get home but _please_ Gracie you’ll love this!” He grabbed her hand before she could agree or disagree and started leading her towards the front of the stage and past the thinning crowd of people. A few girls tried to stop him but he just simply waved at them, continuing to drag Grace past a pair of security guards and towards where backstage would be.         

                “Hey!” Ed’s sudden voice was loud as he saw them both approaching, a huge smile on his face. “Surprise seeing you here! The last news I heard was that you were in the hospital. I’m glad you’re better man!” He wrapped his arms around Harry in a brief hug, patting his back affectionately.

                “You know I’d come out to support one of my good friends,” Harry laughed when they pulled out of their embrace. “Yeah it’s been something else... But I’m almost one hundred percent.”

                “You look like it!” Ed slapped his shoulder before noticing how Harry situated himself right beside Grace again who had been watching the two from a distance. “Oh Harry? Care to introduce me to the girlfriend?” The older man’s voice rose an octave as he smiled at first Harry then Grace.

                “Oh, Ed this is Grace. She really digs your music, right after mine of course,” he said, not even bothering to decline the girlfriend part as he put his arm around her shoulders. 

                _Does he not know about Natasha or does he treat celebrity news with a grain of salt like the rest of us do?_ “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said politely, shaking Ed’s hand as he held it out to her.

                “Nice to meet you too miss.” He smiled at her before wiggling his eyebrows at Harry. Harry just shook his head while smiling at him, this time not getting flustered like he would if his bandmates had made the same gesture at him. “Why don’t we take a picture together?” Ed asked, clearing the air once again.

                “That’ll be great!” Grace’s voice came out more excited than she meant, making Harry laugh a bit.

                Ed called over one of the staff members to take the picture on Harry’s phone while they situated themselves. Grace stood between both of the men, Harry’s arm over her shoulder and Ed leaning on her. If she thought meeting Harry was crazy, it was even crazier now to be with both him and Ed Sheeran at the same time. _Just what other people am I going to end up meeting through Harry?_

                “Well thanks for coming out!” The red head thanked them one last time after Harry retrieved his phone from the staff member and all three of them agreed on it being a nice picture. “I’ll keep in touch with you Harry and you...” He gave Grace a small smile. “I look forward to seeing you around with Harry more. It was very nice to meet you.”

                “It was very nice to meet you too!” She nodded at him, waving back to him as he started to leave quickly, saying he had a flight to catch. “God Harry that was amazing! Thank you so much!” she gushed as they left the backstage area behind and started walking past the various tents selling merchandise on the sidewalk.

                “It was nothing.” She noticed he was blushing a little, but was trying to hide it as he kept his head down. “I just wanted to make sure you were ok after everything, get us both out for a bit.”

                “Did you enjoy yourself?” She couldn’t help but to lean onto his tall, skinny body. It felt more natural with the way his body moved against hers as they walked, his arm still slung around her shoulder.

                “Yeah! I did!” He smiled to himself. “It was fun watching you sing and dance along.”

                “You were supposed to be enjoying the concert, not me.”

                “Yeah true but I can’t keep my eyes off of you,” he said smoothly, turning his head to face her. He was so close now they could kiss, and that thought alone almost made her heart stop. It had been months since they last kissed, since she last felt his warm lips on hers, but they couldn’t kiss now, not in front of all of these people.

                _Why not? He’s single now, so are you, you aren’t faking so...?_ Despite her thoughts she just couldn’t bring herself to it as she looked away, biting her own lip in frustration instead. She was just too embarrassed to think of this right now.

                “You’re such a flirt,” she muttered under her breath instead, glancing at the stores they were now passing by.

                “But it’s true.” He seemed to put his arm around her tighter to bring her even closer to him. “I’m really glad you enjoyed yourself Gracie.”

                She nodded. “I’m glad you did too.”

                They both fell into silence with Grace trying to figure her thoughts out on Harry, and Harry sorting his own thoughts out as well. They didn’t begin talking again until Harry noticed an empty photo booth inside of a store.

                “Oh,” he said excitedly, almost like a child. “I love those! Want to take a few together?” He turned to face her, his eyes sparkling with excitement and hair blowing in the light, evening breeze.

                “Yeah it’ll be fun,” she agreed, following him inside and into the booth. No one spotted them on their way in, and she was hoping it would stay that way as Harry let her climb in first. After he joined her it was a tight squeeze as his knee bumped against hers, his thigh just barely touching hers.

                “Harry scoot over!” She laughed, watching as he put money into the machine.

                “We’ve gotta be close if we want a good picture!” He smiled at her when the machine accepted his cash, purposely hitting her knee with his in a playful manner. “And don’t even lie, we _are_ closer than we used to be.”

                _He’s something else tonight._ Grace laughed at him and shook her head before muttering her agreement, thinking about if this was last summer she’d be yelling at him and they wouldn’t be in this situation anyway. “What do we want to do?” she asked to change the conversation, flipping through the frames available in the selection menu.

                “I hate those. We can just do regular pictures. Silly faces, you know… whatever the mood strikes us.”

                “Sounds good to me. We’ll handwrite our names on them?” She stopped on a screen asking them to input their names.

                “Yep.” He reached out and tapped the next button before tapping a button for the most pictures, ten.

                “Harry!” she suddenly yelled at him, wondering why on earth he would want ten pictures on one little reel. Wasn’t five enough?

                “It’s memories! Shhh,” he shushed her, giving her a weird look. “Here, we’ll get duplicates so I can have a set and you can too.”

                “Whatever you say Harry…” she shook her head at him, looking up at the camera to prepare herself for the first picture. She fixed her hair quickly, tucking a few misbehaving strands of hair behind her ear as Harry ran his fingers through his own.

                “Ready?” he asked before pressing the start button and she nodded.

                Once they got everything set up, she had to admit she honestly had the best night of her life making funny faces with Harry. He was wild as usual, leaning over on her on some shots or forcing her to do something weird with him. It was a wonderful time until he asked _the_ question.

                “Want to do couple shots,” he laughed once the first round was over. She was pretty sure that the whole store could hear them laughing at this rate but she didn’t care, they were having too much fun.

                “Yeah, sounds fine to me.” She was trusting that he wouldn’t turn it into anything weird, but for some reason the word couple didn’t bother her at all. He had turned to look at her, as if he was a bit unsure but she didn’t mind at all. He selected ten shots again this time, a gentle smile on his face. What she didn’t see coming though, was how quick either of them could go from playful to doting in a matter of minutes.

                It started off innocent, Harry playfully putting his arm around her shoulder, smiling like he was having the time of his life. It was when he pulled her in closer for another shot and turned to look at her when everything went up hill. He had already convinced her into taking one where her head was on his shoulder, but she didn’t expect the events that occurred in the next minute to happen at all.

                She found herself getting caught up in his green eyes at first, time seeming to slow down as he continued to stare right back into her brown ones. After several moments her eyes started wandering from his and down to his pink lips, wanting more than anything to be kissed by him in that moment. He took the signal after the camera flashed for a picture, closing the distance between them both to nothing as he pressed his lips against hers in a soft kiss. In the cramped space of the booth, he only got one kiss in before he pulled away briefly, looking slightly uncertain as the camera clicked yet again. Grace knew what she had to do right in that crucial moment, it was something she should have done last summer, it was something she should have done ages ago, but now she’d finally get the truth out.

                Reaching out and stroking his cheek gently, she brought him in for another kiss, instantly warmed by the way his lips seemed to perfectly fit against hers. She could feel him smile in the kisses that followed, grabbing her hand in his to squeeze it tightly before they broke apart several breathtaking kisses later. His eyes rested back on hers again as the camera flashed for one last time that night, and for some reason she couldn't bring herself to look away.

                Unlike the first time he kissed her, unlike that first time she had actually kissed him and meant it, this felt so right to her in this moment. She wouldn’t trade it in for anything with the way Harry was looking at her, a small smile on his lips before he simply whispered, “Let’s go.”

                They collected their pictures from the printer outside the booth, Harry giving her one set of each kind as they headed back to his truck. Somewhere in-between that long walk, his hand found hers, his longer fingers intertwining with her shorter ones. Sometimes they’d bump shoulders from walking so close, or Harry would gently squeeze her hand periodically, giving her a gentle smile along their walk but she didn’t mind any of it. She didn’t mind their closeness, she didn’t even care about being papped right now.

                All she knew was she was the happiest woman alive that night, walking hand in hand with her best friend and now boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It _finally_ happened, the very thing you've all been waiting on! But wait! Your smile is about to get even bigger because you know what? We couldn't possibly end our story off like this could we? There's just so much more we have to learn about our two favorites, too many more scenes to share with them and so much more time to spend with our two favorites, right? So look forward to next update! I've still got _a lot_ of fun, awesome, sometimes steamy, and a bit weird times for you guys and of course a crap load more of drama. Thank you for reading, thank you for all your support, and I'll see you lovely people next update!


	18. Honesty

                The butterflies in Grace’s stomach hadn’t stopped since last night. All she could picture in her head was either Harry’s smiling face after she had kissed him or the way he had kissed her back in the photo booth. For some reason, she felt like a little girl all over again when she had crushes in middle school. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but it was the first time in a long time she had gotten so giddy over a guy.

                _Harry Styles and I like each other_ , she repeated over and over in her head as she stared up at the ceiling of Harry’s guest bedroom, the late morning light leaving hues of bright orange and pale, light yellow across the cream colored walls and ceiling.

                _I wonder how Harry feels about the whole thing… Is he just as happy as I am?_ She bit her lip, imagining he must’ve felt almost the same with the way he would barely let her go last night after they got back.

_“Night Gracie,” he gave her one of the cutest smiles she ever witnessed as he leaned in the doorway to the guest bedroom._

_“Night Harry,” she smiled back at him, feeling like she was on the top of the world after her shower. She was secretly hoping he would ask her if she wanted to sleep with him, but at the same time she was hoping he wouldn’t. Would they even be able to control themselves after everything?_

                _“See you in the morning.” He winked at her before backing out of her room, closing the door to a mere crack like he knew she liked it. Happy watched him leave before jumping up into the bed with Grace, knowing Harry would scold him if he knew the big dog was sleeping on his sheets._

_“Yeah… see you,” she breathed out, trying to take all of the events of the past few days in. Harry kissing her… trying to get him back in a healthy condition… Natasha…_

_Natasha…_ Grace frowned as Happy jumped down from the bed and left the room, hearing probably Harry in either the kitchen or living room. She and Harry still had a bit of talking to do about this whole _thing_ but she didn’t want to pile all of it on him right now.Yeah, they had caught up on each other’s lives, but there were a few gaping holes in Harry’s narrative she needed to fill in.

                Just as she was about to get out of bed she heard her phone vibrate on the bedside table. Unplugging it from its charger she read the screen. Amiss a missed call from an unknown number and a calendar update she saw it was a new text from Zayn. The other four men had decided to stay back in England while she and Harry went back to LA even though things seemed to be tense between them and Zayn for reasons she still didn’t know. Before she left Zayn and Liam had teased her about living with Harry again a little, Liam stating they just wanted to get it on more and Zayn agreeing with him, insisting they’d be the couple of the year again before they knew it.

                **_Did you think I wouldn’t figure out?_**

She frowned at the message after she read it, just wondering what on earth he could be talking about. She quickly composed a message to him and sent it out. **_Figure what out?_**

**_You and Harry! Don’t even try to deny it either, you two were making out last night, it’s been all over the news. Not that I pay attention to that kind of stuff but Grace come on. You can’t hide it anymore from anyone._ **

_Of course it would be this…_ She let out a sigh as she sat up straight, reading Zayn’s immediate response over again. _But how would anyone know about us kissing last night? We were only kissing in the photobooth and he kissed me a few times when we got back home…_

In the middle of her thoughts Zayn sent her another text again.

                **_Lol relax darling ;P I’m just playin. But… I did see something about you two holding hands though sooooo something you want to tell your partner in crime? :)_**

She rolled her eyes at her phone, suddenly hearing Happy barking further down the hall at something. Zayn really was something else… From day one he had always been like this, getting into her life with Harry but then again she let him help her out. He proved himself to be a loyal friend to not just her, but the other members as well. He was trustworthy and someone she’d always go to for help when Harry either wasn’t around or was acting up.

                **_You’re so nosy! Well it’s true that we kissed? And I wasn’t hiding anything!_**

**_I am not! I’m just always looking out for you… but anyway it’s about time!_** She could just imagine Zayn’s face right now as he continued to send her texts spaced apart to tease her. He was probably laughing his head off right now in both a happy and in an _I told you so_ way. **_You and Harry… K I S S I N G… To think you were so set on never dating him and complaining on how he’d never like you back. Well congratulations. I’m proud of you both, I really am._**

**_Thanks?_ **

**_Oh you’re welcome babe. You’re very welcome._ **

_Why does it sound like he’s trying to take credit for Harry and I getting together?_ She snorted at his next message, sending him another saying she needed to get ready for the day and would talk to him later. She then put her phone back down on the table, finally getting herself out of bed for the day. After talking to him though, she felt a bit nervous to see Harry for the first time since last night. He wouldn’t be weird would he? He wouldn’t make up some excuse for kissing her last night like he had before?

                Pushing those thoughts away she let out a breath and headed towards his bathroom to get freshened up for the day. _Think positive thoughts Grace. Positive thoughts…_

After brushing her teeth and completing her morning routine, she exited the bathroom expecting Harry to be either in the living room or kitchen, but the slightly older man wasn’t. _Odd…_ He was usually awake before she was, even if it was just five minutes. She made her way to his room, this time not at all nervous about walking in this time.

                “Harry?” she asked, still knocking politely on his door before entering.

                “Shh not so loud!” His voice sounded deeper than usual and there was a slight edge to it as if he was in pain.

                _I’m literally using my normal voice… Uh oh… He must be under the weather again or loopy from his painkillers…_ “How are you feeling?” She immediately asked in a lower voice, knowing something was wrong with him. He had such high energy last night and before his accident so she knew this wasn’t the normal him.

                “Like shit.” He had one arm over his forehead and the other in his lap when she walked closer to him, sitting down beside him on his side of the bed. He was sitting propped up on two of his pillows, his hair pulled back into what might’ve been a bun but now several strands of his curly hair were falling out all over the place.

                “What hurts?” She fought back the urge to tell him that this is why he should’ve been resting last night, knowing that would get them nowhere. Harry seemed to get a thousand times grumpier when he was sick, she knew it from the first two days after he was discharged. The man was bossier than ever and if they hadn’t been friends from before, she would have asked his mom or his sister to come take care of him instead.

                “Literally everything.” He brought his arm down to get a view of her. It was then she saw his eyebrows were creased in pain and his eyes were a bit damp with bags under them. He wasn’t crying earlier… was he?

                “Here, have you taken some of your medicine?” She glanced over at the bottle on his bedside table, noting he did seem to have gotten up in the middle of the night to get some water.

                “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Still hurts though. And I’m nauseated as hell.”

                _It’s probably because he hasn’t eaten anything since we grabbed something last night…_ “You think you can eat a little bit of something? It might help.”

                “Anything please,” he half whined, his eyes meeting hers. “I should’ve listened to you last night when you said to stay in,” he laughed weakly, breathing out of his nose loudly.

                “Don’t worry about it. I’ll make you something real quick.” She patted his hand before she left his room, walking past Happy on the way to the kitchen to think of something light to make him.

                _Pancakes would be too much and so would an omelet… regular eggs? No… Toast with jelly would be good but that’s kind of boring and Harry’s a big eater… he is sick though…_ She sighed, trying to list out all of the things she could possibly make for him. It didn’t hit her until she opened his refrigerator that all he may need was a cup of yogurt. It was light, it wouldn’t upset his stomach and would help him feel better after taking his medicine. She also grabbed him a fresh glass of water before heading back to his room again.

                “Brought you some yogurt,” she said in a softer voice when she returned to his room, Happy this time following her into the room as well.

                “Thanks,” he muttered, taking the cup and spoon from her. She sat his new glass of water on the table beside him before starting to take his old one from the night back into the kitchen. Before she could leave though, he asked if she’d stay and sit with him for a while.

                “Yeah, sure,” she agreed, continuing to take his glass back into the kitchen and grabbing her phone from her own room before returning to sit in the same spot. “You feeling a bit better?”

                “Surprisingly yeah… but it’s probably just because you’re here.” He gave her a small smile before eating more of his breakfast.

                _He’s always saying that now…_ She smiled back but looked away from him, still wondering what was going through his head. Was he going to ask her about last night? He had to; it _had_ to be on his mind with the way he had held her hand back in the booth… the way he had kissed her again when they got back home.

                Surprisingly he hadn’t brought up the topic as time wore on and he quietly finished his food. He simply beckoned Grace to come lay beside him, and she did, easily getting used to always being here with him like this.Then it got her thinking. _This is just like what Liam said all along… how Harry’s lonely all the time and to look after him. Is this what he meant? Is this also maybe why he was so stressed out?_ She glanced up at him, noticing how content he looked with her just being there with him. Yeah, she did think he was a bit clingy, but as long as he was happy, she was happy as well.

                “So… about last night… Why hadn’t you told me sooner?” He suddenly blurted out the last thing she wanted to hear a few moments later as her thoughts kept drifting.

                “I could ask you the same thing,” she challenged, just barely meeting his eyes as he turned over on his side to look at her. She knew he was looking at her with such a serious expression partially because he wasn’t feeling the best, but it was still intimidating.

                He shrugged, sighing a bit. “Are we going to be honest this morning? Like completely honest?”

                “Well we haven’t been this past summer so we should give it a shot,” she replied sarcastically, making Harry roll his eyes.

                “Anyway…” he sung out the _way_ in the word, drumming his long fingers on his bare thighs. Grace figured he must’ve gotten hot in the middle of the night, so he settled on pulling on some of his tiny shorts and sleeping with no blankets. “You always acted like you wanted me out of your life as quickly as possible. I don’t know… It’s… I just really didn’t think you liked me in that way.”

                “Well I didn’t at first,” she admitted quietly, avoiding Harry’s glare still. “But I came to like you as we started living together longer-”

                “When,” he cut her off. “That… that kiss on the beach… It was real wasn’t it?”

                She looked up at him, this time meeting his green eyes. “I… yeah… It was. It was around then I started to like you.”

                “Then why did you leave me?”

                He sounded partially pitiful, making her chest squeeze a bit. She knew she shouldn’t have left him, it was blatantly obvious that he really liked her, but she had still done it anyway. “I really liked you a lot Harry…” She left out the part about loving him, still not ready to make such a big confession to him. He had told her he loved her, but she still didn’t believe it to this day. His definition of love and hers had to be different. _Besides, he may not even be serious about me…_ Regardless of her negative thoughts, she continued, “And I was scared too that you’d never like me back in that way.

                “I was always scared you wouldn’t feel the same way because you’re a big super star, you’re on the top of the world Harry and I’m just... here. I was just your fan, I still am, but you get the point.”

                “So?” He shifted in bed as he relaxed his face. “For one, you aren’t a nobody, you’re really special to me… I really mean that. And secondly, I mean… we can’t choose who we fall in love with. It just… _happens._ And I could care less if you were famous or not, I’d still like you either way.”

                “You’re right… I’m sorry,” she simply said, thinking about how her mother had told her the exact same words. For some reason, she felt like this was her fault. She and Harry could have been dating ages ago if she would have just been honest, but then again he hadn’t been completely honest with her either, so they were both to blame.

                “Why are you apologizing?” He scooted over closer to her, pushing one of his pillows from under him out of the way so they would be on the same eyelevel. “You haven’t done anything wrong. If anything… I need to apologize.” He looked away for a moment, biting his lip for a moment. “About Natasha, about you flying out to London for me… I always wanted to take you out to my home country but not in _that_ way.” He gave her shoulder a sympathetic pat when he looked back over at her. “But we’re here together now despite everything that happened. That’s all that matters.”

                She nodded, feeling a bit better about everything. She was about to respond, but at that moment her phone began to vibrate on the bed between them, showing her lock screen of the very first picture she and Harry took together.

                Harry whistled when he saw it before the screen changed to the call screen. “Are we putting couple pictures on our stuff now?”

                “Don’t act like you’re so innocent.” She would make mention of the picture on his mantle, but right now she had to answer this call. She sat up in bed to read the caller ID and her stomach did a drop when she saw it was from her mom. “Hold on,” she whispered to Harry before taking the call, hoping this would be a normal phone call.

                Yet things always go contrary to plan.

                “Grace!” Her mom’s voice came out rushed on the other end.

                “Hi Mom! What’s the matter?” She tried to sound normal but she was panicking on the inside. Was Dad ok? Were they mad at her about Harry? Had they seen something weird on the news or was she just excited to tell her some good news?

                There was a pause on the line, making her glance over at Harry who was staring at her curiously. He raised his eyebrows at her in question and she mouthed, “It’s just Mom,” making him nod his head in understanding.

                “Grace!” Her dad’s loud and booming voice suddenly took over the line.

                “Uhm… hi Dad?” She swallowed, a chill running down her spine. _Yeah I’m in trouble now._

“Didn’t you break up with that Harry Stars guy!? Why do I see you all over the news with him this morning!? Our phones have been ringing off the hook!”

                _Oh great…_ She let out a breath, preparing to defend herself but her father just continued.

                “I want you to come over here right now! We need to talk!”

                “But Dad it’s honestly fine! I’m fine and he’s fine-”

                “Now young lady! No buts!” She could hear her mom saying something in the background but her dad talked right over her. “We’re going to sit here and talk about your _future_ with this young man!”

                “You’ve got to be kidding me…” she muttered under her breath, but not low enough for her dad to not hear.

                “Yeah I’m _not_ kidding you! You’re still my daughter and I don’t want you running around with men like that! We’ll see you this evening!”

                Then there was silence on the line as he ended the call, making Grace sigh hard as she put her phone between her and Harry again. She covered her face with her hands for a moment before running one hand down her face in irritation. She was pretty sure Harry had heard everything with how close he was but apparently he hadn’t or chose to pretend he didn’t as he asked the next question.

                “What’s wrong?” He was frowning a bit in hopefully concern as he sat up too, making her look at him.

                “My parents want to see me. They haven’t seen me in a while.” She looked away from him, honestly feeling like crying. She had only cried in front of him once and she’d like to keep it that way.

                “I’m guessing this isn’t a good thing though…” he trailed off, looking her over curiously. “It’s none of my business on what goes on in your family but are you alright?”

                “Yeah I’ll be fine.” She got up from his bed after grabbing her phone, making sure to not step on Happy as she headed towards her room. She wanted to tell Harry what was going on, but she just couldn’t with how happy they were with each other right now. It would hurt his feelings if he knew her dad was so opposed to her being with him, and the last thing she needed was a family feud over him.

                “Sorry Harry… I just… I need some alone time and I’ve got to drive out to their house as soon as I can. It’s pretty important.” She stopped in her tracks briefly to try and explain things to him.

                “You want me to drive you out there?” His voice was still laced with concern as he continued to look at her.

                “No… please just stay here. I’ll be back before it gets too late. If not I’ll call you.” She turned away from him to head back into her room to change out of her nightwear, put some clothes on and mentally prepare herself. As much as she wanted Harry to be with her for support, she wouldn’t put him in that situation. She wanted him to meet her parents under good conditions, not ones where Dad wanted to probably kick him where it hurts for dating his daughter.

                _He’s just my boyfriend anyway… I’m not some little girl anymore so what does it matter if I’m dating Harry?_ She let out a sigh as she closed the door behind her, hoping Harry wouldn’t get too worried and hoping that somehow this would all go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things can never be smooth sailing for these two, can it? Thanks for reading guys and I hope you enjoyed this update! Thank you for your comments and kudos and as always, I'll see you next update.


	19. Family Feud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update is _finally_ here! First off, I really want to apologize for the delay. A lot of things came up in my life between now and the last update ranging from the good, the bad and the ugly where I just simply didn't have the time to post or just physically couldn't due to not having my laptop. Some of you may have thought I was pulling out on this story and would never post another update, but never fear, there wouldn't be anything that would make me stop writing this (well... perhaps maybe writer's block ha). I missed you all, I missed posting these updates, and I know you're all glad to delve right back into the story where we last left off: seeing if Grace could get her parents to accept Harry (in which she'll hopefully succeed in!). So without further ado, here's the next update and as always, happy reading!

                Harry had said goodbye to Grace for the evening before she left with a simple hug and words of encouragement. He knew something was up, but he didn’t press it when he walked her out to his Range Rover despite her wanting to drive her own car. He insisted it would get better gas mileage or something weird as he handed her the keys, telling her to drive safely and playfully saying not to wreck his valuable truck.

                “See you when you get back.” He tapped the hood of the truck before she pulled out of the driveway, thinking about the directions to her parents' house. Hopefully they wouldn’t think anything weird when she pulled up in Harry’s truck. She had never ever told them that they had and were living together, and she just couldn’t tell them now. Both of them would think she and Harry were having sex and her life would be over.

                _This is horrible…_ She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she stopped at a red light, wishing more than anything that Zayn or Harry were sitting in the passenger side to talk her through this. _Wait… Why Zayn when I have Harry now?_ She shook her head, gently accelerating the truck when the light turned green. Right now she couldn’t rely on either of them; right now she needed to be strong for herself.

                The whole drive she tried to relax with the comforting scent of leather and Harry’s lingering cologne on the driver’s seat. She tried to listen to the radio, but found nothing good on so she popped in one of Harry’s CD’s, knowing it would be something she’d like since their music taste was so similar.

                After an hour of going from worrying to slightly above a state of calm she pulled into her parents' familiar driveway, suddenly overtaken with feelings of nostalgia. She could remember moving here back in high school from upper Manhattan and how she wished she could replace the scraggly, desert landscape with the skyscrapers and taxis of New York, but with time she could get used to the sound of coyotes baying in the distance, and being able to actually see and count all the stars since there were no bright city lights or buildings to block her view. It was peaceful out here a little ways outside of the city, and to be honest, if it wasn’t for her past job at Baked Barks, her modeling career, or meeting Harry she would be right back here at home.

                _Alright that’s enough reminiscing._ She let out a breath as she noticed the same horse her family had when she was younger was still out back, munching happily on food in his feed trough. When she hopped out of Harry’s truck and closed the door, the horse looked in her direction, pricking his ears forward in some sort of recognition.

                “Nothing’s changed much,” she muttered to herself as she checked the rest of the land out. She then turned to look at Harry’s car, hoping and praying he wouldn’t be upset at her when she got back and saw the massive amounts of dead bugs and dust all over his shiny black truck.

                “Here goes nothing…” she breathed as she locked the doors to his truck and headed up the path to the front door of her parents' house. She noticed that the main door was open, but the screen door was locked tight. As she raised her hand to knock she was surprised by a deep growl followed by a bark as a short legged Corgi mix aggressively greeted her.

                “Grace’s here!” she heard her mom call before she appeared in the front door, pushing the short dog away with her foot. “Hi dear! Oh don’t mind him! He’s all bark and no bite!” She ushered her daughter in as the dog continued to bark at her, eyeing her cautiously but still keeping his distance as he wagged his tail at her.

                “Hey Mom!” She hugged her, never knowing how good it felt to be hugged by her after such a long time. She pulled away when she felt something on her leg, looking down to find the dog was trying to squeeze himself between the both of them. “Didn’t know you guys had a dog now?”

                “Well yes!” She laughed a bit, scolding the dog for being so noisy. This sent him walking a short distance away to sit down but still stare at Grace. “We decided to get one from that very same shelter you got your Happy from not too long ago. He alerts us of strangers and keeps that horse from wandering off. But anyway, how are you dear? How was your drive? I see you have a new car!”

                _Oh the Range Rover…_ She smiled nervously, giving her mom a nod. “I’m fine! A bit sleepy but fine.” She chose to ignore the car part, hoping her mom would overlook it. “It was long but good! How are you?”

                “Old and tired,” she laughed, patting her daughter on the back before locking the screen door and leading her into the living room.

                “What’s all that noise and whose fancy car is that outside?”

                Grace bit her lip when she heard her dad’s voice, already feeling that he was crankier than ever. On most days, her dad was the happiest man alive provided he got to go on his fishing expeditions, but today she knew that would be different whether he went fishing or not. His daughter dating some _'strange man with genital herpes'_ was on the table today.

                “Hi Dad!” She tried to sound excited but knew she failed miserably. She was a grown woman, but yet felt like a middle school girl all over again.

                Dad turned to face her, a smile coming on his face. “There’s my daughter! Is that your truck?”

                She nodded her head, not daring to even mention Harry’s name. “How are you?” she asked, hugging him before he gestured for them to all sit in the living room.

                “Good! Good… Good until I turned on the TV today.” He sighed, rubbing his temple as he sat down and leaned back in his recliner. “How are you?”

                _He’s starting it right away!_ She swallowed, trying to not let her nervousness show. “I’ve been pretty good…” _Yeah I’ve been living with the man you hate and I quit my job again. Life’s great!_

“We’ve been seeing you a lot in the magazines and things!” Her mom suddenly said, maybe trying to steer Dad away from flat out attacking her or Harry. “You told us a while back you were into modeling but you’re really good sweetheart! You’re prettier than all of those other girls by far!”

                “Thanks Mom…” she trailed off, suddenly feeling sick. _I just can’t tell them now I don’t work there anymore… Dad would blame Harry and this would get ugly really fast…_

“Clothes are a bit too revealing,” her dad interjected, causing Mom to fall into silence. “But anyway Grace, let’s get to the point. You do know why I called you out here, right?”

                She nodded her head, feeling nervous once again. _God I wish Harry was here so bad…_ “Yes sir, I do.”

                “So what happened? I thought you two broke it off? That’s what you told us last and we heard he cheated on you?” Her mom asked this time, still trying to take the steam off of her.

                _Should I tell them the truth?_ She opened her mouth to speak but of course her dad had to add his two cents in.

                “It doesn’t matter what happened. I want to know why on earth you’re with _him_ out of all people. Couldn’t you just settle down with a nice, quiet guy that isn’t into smoking weed with his buddies, whoring around and then lying to these little girls that like his group, One Dimension?”

                “It’s One Direction Dad… But that doesn’t matter! Dad he’s _nothing_ like they say he is on TV! Yeah, I’ll admit he has dated around a lot but he isn’t that bad!”

                “Explain _that bad_.” Her dad let out a breath, furrowing his eyebrows even more. He seemed to be getting even more frustrated and annoyed as each minute ticked by.

                _How am I going to survive this?_ She sighed, thinking her next words out carefully. One small mistake and it would be like slipping off of the top of a mountain to the rocks below. Her dad couldn’t force her to stop liking Harry or even try to intimidate Harry out of liking her as well, but if this went badly there was no way on earth if she and Harry did decide to get really serious her dad would ever approve of it. She needed to stay on his good side, or at least keep him neutral on the whole matter tonight. “One, he isn’t into drugs like you think he is. He’s completely clean.” She leaned back in her seat, trying to not cringe at the ugly flower pattern the sofa was in. _Some things never changed around here…_ “And he is a nice guy! He may not be quiet, he is more outgoing than I am, but he is nice to me and that’s what matters. He’s always there for me when I’m happy or sad or even mad, he’s been taking care of me since day one, and he always listens.”

                “So can you explain to me why you dumped him and took him back? They’re saying you two live together now!”

                “You live together?!” Her mom suddenly joined in, her expression going from calm to both alarmed and angry. “Grace Evergreen it’s one thing to like him but it’s another to stay in the same house… Oh…! Are you two having sex? Are you using protection? You’re not pregnant by him, are you?”

                _This is not what I wanted to happen…_ She looked down at her lap, feeling stiff all over as their dog started barking again at the sudden agitation filling the room. She put her hand up to her face briefly. This night was not going how she wanted it to go at all with her parents yelling at her all at once and the dog freaking out too. _If I could just…_ “Guys just calm down for a moment!” she finally shouted over everyone, sick and tired of this back and forth. She could understand why her parents were upset, maybe a bit confused, but she hated this whole attitude coming from her dad on how Harry was no good. She knew he was looking out for her, but this wasn’t the way to do it.

                “Just let me explain…” She took a deep breath, looking from both Mom and back to Dad. “I know you both think Harry is gross, sleeps around or whatever the media has said about him, but you should trust me. I _know_ him and I’m your daughter. You know I don’t go after guys that are mean or rude or any less than a gentleman. I always have gone for the really nice guys that respect me, I always have and always will. Yeah Harry’s not some farmer or a baker or some business man, he’s in the world’s biggest boyband so everything he does is looked at under a microscope and picked apart, no matter how good of a job he does or if he messes up. We’re all human and we all make mistakes though.

                “Harry and I… we have something really special and he’s someone very important to me. I know I didn’t tell you this before, and I’m _really_ sorry I wasn’t honest, I really am, but this past summer Harry and I weren’t really _dating_ … It was a set up for the media that he, some of his band members and I put together, but I was too ashamed to tell you.” She glanced at her parents' faces, realizing her dad had kept his constant expression but her mom looked like she may cry now. “Harry and I… we just bumped into each other on the street one day by coincidence. Mom… Dad… you know I'm a fan of One Direction, I like their music, I bought a few albums and posters and I _had_ to get a picture with him. It was a once in a lifetime chance. Well… we kind of got into a mess because of some false story about us being together and we did… we did end up living together.

                “But it’s not what you think it is! Harry and I haven’t done anything we shouldn’t have, we just became… the best of friends.” She found herself smiling despite the situation, hoping just maybe her parents would understand that Harry wasn’t this bad person at all. He really was a great guy, despite how bossy, annoying and grouchy he could be sometimes. He had always stuck up for her, and always would. “He would always ask me how I was and made sure the paparazzi wouldn’t harass us on every outing… He would always try to make me feel better when he knew I wasn’t feeling the best and he'd just do the little things in life to make everything better… for the both of us.

                “And when we broke up… that was staged too… he didn’t _cheat_ on me. Nothing happened, we just still remained friends. But we just now… we just now started dating yesterday for real. I… guys it’s been so stressful being with him so I just hope you understand everything. I know I’ve just told you a lot, but that’s everything that’s been going on in my life for the past year. I know it’s crazy, but Harry’s a really special person to me after all of this. Please understand.”

                There was silence in the room after her speech. Even the dog was quietly sitting across the room, still staring at her as if he wished she’d disappear. In a way, she did feel like disappearing with the way her dad was staring at her with his mouth open and her mom had a bewildered look on her face.

                “So you mean to tell me you two had a little conspiracy theory going on?” Dad finally asked, still trying to process everything. “And now you two like each other?”

                “More or less… yeah.” She nodded her head, hoping he wouldn’t still be upset.

                “Kent just let them stay together…” her mom said quietly after a while, running her thumb over her other fingers on the opposite hand. She looked up at her husband as she said the next words, completely taking her daughter’s side. “I see it when they both look at each other, they look at each other like we used to look at each other when we were younger-”

                “Tonya!”

                “-Grace can’t help it that she fell in love with him out of all people. He doesn’t sound like a bad boy at all.”

                Her dad frowned at his wife, shaking his head before looking at Grace again. She felt her skin crawl, not quite knowing if her dad was ok with this or not. It wasn’t like he could force her into not seeing Harry again, but if she and Harry ever did become serious, it would hinder them on progressing if her dad refused to actually get to know him and take her word for it that he was a good guy.

                “Alright…” he finally sighed in defeat, rolling his eyes a bit. “But this guy… I want to meet him before winter gets here. You hear me?”

                “Yes!” Grace smiled at him, feeling like she was on top of the world once again without her father’s wrath raining down on her like a dragon’s fiery breath. She didn’t ever think she’d get him to agree, but perhaps telling the truth helped. “Thanks so much Dad and Mom!” She stood up from her seat, going to hug her mom first.

                “You’re welcome sweetheart.” Her mother shook her head at her before the hug. “You two have quite a love story… I’ll say that…” She muttered into Grace’s hair as she hugged her. “Who would’ve ever thought…”

                “You just got lucky this time,” her dad muttered when she got around to hugging him. When she pulled away he added, “Anyway, stick around for a while. I didn’t just want to see you about that. We also just wanted to see you. It’s been too long.”

                In the end, Grace ended up staying way past the time she told Harry she’d be back, but she knew he’d understand. He hadn’t called or texted her the whole time, allowing her to have her own space and time with her family as they caught up and talked about various topics in each of their lives.

                “I told him I’d be back before nightfall!” She persisted when the night wore on and she started to get tired. She loved her family and all, but it was really time to start heading back home. She hated night driving, and was missing her bed more than anything. “I’ll come back and visit soon though!”

                “You better!” Dad smiled at her as he waved her goodbye as she stood in the front door. “Oh… Grace…”

                “Hmm?” She turned to face him.

                “This Harry kid… You sound… very happy with him. Happier than with that other kid…” he bust out suddenly. “It’s the only reason I let you slide today. I meant it when I said I want to meet him one day, but I can really tell he means a lot to you. Tell him we said hi.”

                “Thanks Dad… and I will…” She smiled at him just before Mom embraced her one last time.

                After they said their goodbyes, she got back into Harry’s truck and backed it out of the driveway. She gave him a call as she got further down the street, pulling over since she didn’t want to talk and drive at the same time.

                “Hey babe,” he answered after a few rings, sounding as if he had just woken up.

                _Well that’s new…_ “Hey! Doing alright?”

                “Tired but yeah. How’d it go? Everything alright? You sound really happy.”

                “It went great actually.” She checked her rearview mirror, noticing there was no traffic at this hour. She decided to go ahead and start driving back, feeling safer knowing there wouldn’t be much of anyone to drive on her bumper or drive way too slow in front of her. “Mom and Dad told me to tell you hi. They really liked hearing about you.”

                “Oh you told them?” She could just imagine him blushing on the sofa at her words. “What did you say about me?”

                “Just how nice you are and stuff. I… I did end up telling them the truth about last summer.”

                “They didn’t get mad?”

                “They were more shocked than anything.” Grace recalled the look on Dad’s face, letting out a sigh. “But it’s alright, I didn’t want to tell you before I left but my dad… he’s pretty hard on the guys I date.”

                “Aren’t all dads?” Harry laughed a bit. “I kinda figured as much with how you were acting before you left… that or a family emergency.”

                “I guess you’re right,” she laughed with him. “Yeah well he’s _harder_. I got him to at least accept you. He still wants to meet you though.”

                “I bet…” there was a pause on his side of the line as he let out a grunt, probably adjusting himself on the sofa. “Now you’re making me nervous…” he laughed nervously. “It’s like we’re getting married or something weird.”

                “Don’t be nervous about it! Dad’s great, he just wants to make sure you’re treating me right and you are so there’s nothing to worry about.” She bit her lip, thinking about how she had launched into an entire speech on how much she liked Harry. It didn’t hit her until then, but she couldn’t believe she had spoken up for him so boldly and yet just last year she hated even being within a hundred foot radius of him. _Things really do change, don’t they?_

                “I guess… what if he thinks I’m you know…” he trailed off, and Grace already knew what he meant.

                “I cleared that up today for you. That’s what… today was actually about.” She blinked her eyes sleepily, trying to keep focused as she tried to backtrack on the directions. _Just an hour and forty- five more minutes._

“Thanks Gracie. You didn’t have to do that.”

                “Well they kind of summoned me.” She laughed to herself. “I don’t know, it’s… I do like you a lot Harry and I didn’t want Dad or Mom to get the wrong vibe about us,” she honestly admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed to be confessing this to him. Then again, it had seemed that he talked to his mom a lot about her, so they were equal in a sense.

                “I really picked the right girl this time.” She could hear the happiness in Harry’s voice, making her heart flutter just a bit. “You’re something else Gracie… you really are. Thank you so much.”

                “It’s nothing Harry. Really.” She gripped the steering wheel tighter with her free hand as she made a turn, picking up the highway to get back to Harry’s condo faster. “But you should get some rest so you’ll feel better tomorrow. I’ll be home in about an hour and forty minutes. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

                “Hmmm,” he hummed across the line. “I already feel better hearing such great news from you, but you’re right. I’ll let you go, but I won’t promise I won’t wait on you. I’ll see you when you get back Gracie.”

                “Alright Harry…” she laughed a little. “See you!”

                She hung up first, putting her phone down in her lap so she could focus on the stretch of highway in front of her. Everything was still going great minus that obstacle, but she was so glad she could overcome it. She knew one thing for sure though, life is never that easy and dating Harry Styles would never be smooth sailing. She may have gotten her parents to accept him, but she knew there was only more hardship to come. It was only just a matter of when.

                Despite knowing all of this, she didn’t know that trouble would literally come knocking on their door in the next few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys, and thank you for being patient with me and this story! I'm going to keep this story as updated as I possibly can but if I poof again, just know it isn't because I'm giving up on this story, I just have a really busy ~~and grueling~~ schedule with school this semester. But with that aside... I hope this story puts a smile on you guys' faces with each update and I always hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. Thank you for leaving your wonderful comments and kudos, as well as all of your subscriptions to the story and your bookmarks. It always means a lot to me.  
>  Thank you again, and as always, see you next update!


	20. Threats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update is finally here! This time you guys will see a character you haven't seen in a while. Some of you may like him, some of you may hate him, but by the end of this chapter your opinions may change on this character. Happy reading and enjoy your weekend!

                When Grace arrived back at Harry’s condo late last night, he didn’t lie at all about how he would still wait on her. She found him lying down on the sofa half asleep as Happy lay right near him on the floor.

                “And you’re supposed to be resting,” she scolded softly, noticing the cut on his forehead was healing nicely. She never got a chance to see how bad it was, but now the wound was only a thick white line along the left side of his forehead, the stitches having dissolved on their own several days ago.

_Just what was he dealing with before the accident,_ she couldn’t help but think as he slept peacefully on the couch, having fallen asleep waiting on her. Louis had said something about him being stressed out, but with what? She knew Harry was a strong guy, he didn’t let much get to him, but what had really pushed him over the edge?

                She kicked her shoes off at the front door, going to hang her jacket on the hook above them. Just as she was about to enter the living room Harry stirred in his sleep, blinking slowly at her as she came around to the front of the sofa near him.

                “Took you long enough,” he smiled softly at her once he got his bearings. For a brief instant she saw him as that seventeen year old she used to see sometimes on TV and on her computer screen, his dimple cutely matching his adorable smile and round cheeks, but now right in front of her was the twenty-two year old man with a more defined face, longer hair and sprouting facial hair. He was still cute in every way, but he was handsome now more than anything.

                “Get yourself a good nap?” She asked as she placed her purse on the coffee table in front of the sofa before she sat down.

                He nodded, slowly sitting himself up. “I’m feeling a lot better too, before you ask.”

                “Just what I wanted to hear.” She watched as his hair fell into place, still wondering how on earth he ended up this way. The Harry she knew always took care of himself. She wanted to ask him, but decided against it. If he hadn’t told her yet, maybe it wasn’t any of her business or he just wasn't ready to tell her.

                “Why’re you looking at me like that,” he laughed, pushing his hair out of his face.

                “Just thinking...” She looked down at her lap as she started to play with her fingers. Harry always caught her in moments like this, and now she knew she wouldn’t have a way of getting out of this. On top of being stubborn, he wouldn’t take no as an answer or allow her to skate around something he knew was really bothering her.

                “About?” Harry suddenly leaned closer to her and for once she wasn’t bothered by it. “Is it about your parents?”

                “No... Just...” She sighed, finally deciding to ask him what was really on her mind. If he didn’t want to tell her, he could just say no but at least she tried. “What happened to you on tour Harry? Why’d you... pass out? Is everything alright?”

                He didn’t answer right away as his eyes left hers momentarily. “I... I had some things I should’ve taken care of before it started... And some other personal matters as well... It just really stressed me out and yeah... ” he trailed off, still not making eye contact as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

                “Well you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just making sure you were ok.” She bit the inside of her cheek, looking away from him as well. She didn’t mean to trigger him or make him upset but just what was he talking about? Was it because of Zayn leaving? He had told her he wasn’t doing too well after his old bandmate left… Niall had also said something about girl problems... Perhaps Natasha was bugging him or was it... her? _No… It couldn’t be me, we talked right before he left but he did seem a bit off when he was leaving? Was it about our whole breakup thing?_

                “Hey don’t worry about me. I’m alright.” Harry’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts as he gently rubbed her shoulder. “You know me, there’s nothing I can’t handle and if it gets too hard you know I’d come to you... or Mum.” He gave her a half smile, his green eyes reflecting the light of his lamp near the mantle.

                “Yeah you’re right...” she agreed, smiling back at him. _I guess he’ll just tell me when he's ready._

                “But… we should get some rest though Gracie,” he yawned, removing his hand from her shoulder. “We can talk more in the morning.”

                “I’m surprised you’re the one telling me to get to bed.” Grace stood up with him, realizing she still needed to shower and change into her pajamas. Harry was usually the one wanting to stay up all night and watch movies or go out in the town, while she was the one wanting to go to bed. _Guess the tables turned after his accident…_

                He just laughed at her, leaning over for a quick kiss on her cheek before he whispered good night. She told him to text her if he needed anything in the night as she turned to head towards her room.

                She could really get used to living here with him like this, but at the end of the day, was she ready for such a big move in their new relationship?

* * *

 

                Over the next couple of days Harry’s recovery had greatly improved. Grace couldn’t be more grateful or happier that he had recovered so quickly with the way he had nearly split his head open almost a month ago. To this day she couldn’t imagine what she’d do if Harry had regressed and the amnesia had been worse than it was. Would she ever get a chance to tell him how she finally felt or would she have ended up trying to bury her feelings for him?

                _I don’t even want to think about that…_ She sighed, making Harry glance at her from his side of the sofa. _But anyway clear your head Grace… we came here today to talk about something more important._

                Despite the fact she did love being around Harry and they were an official couple, she did want her space after he recovered. Once he was bouncing off the walls again, and wanting to head out to yogurt shops and shopping centers, she quietly told him she wanted to go back home. He didn’t need her nursing him every day and sometimes during the night, so it was a perfect time to ask if he was alright with her going back to her apartment with Happy.

                “It’s just that you’re all better now, and I don’t want to intrude on your time and space,” she said barely above a whisper as they sat near each other on the sofa. She would never forget his actions the last time she told him she wanted to move out, and she’d like to keep this day on a positive note. Even though she was confident in herself, she didn’t need Harry either lashing out at her or getting super pouty.

                “You’re not though,” he emphasized, watching her intently as she continued to avoid eye contact. He was probably seeing right through her like glass but she had to at least try.

                “What about your tour Harry?” she tried this time, hoping maybe he would agree if she used another tactic. “I just can’t stay here alone when you’re in... Dubai or Sweden or something!”

                “Tour’s still cancelled sweetheart.” Harry ran his fingers through his hair before going to chew on his bottom lip. He hadn’t said anything about the tour starting back up again to her, but she was assuming it was still called off since he was recovering and Zayn had left ages ago. The other three members couldn’t perform with two of their bandmates out of commission either permanently or temporarily.

                “ _When_ it starts up again...” she kept pressing, finally meeting his eyes. He wasn’t looking sad or irritated like she thought he would, no, he looked rather perplexed on why on earth she wanted to go back home.

                He stared at her for a moment, letting out a sigh in defeat and shaking his head before speaking. “Well ok if you want to go back... Sure.”

                She raised her eyebrows at him, surprised he was giving in so easily. He stood up from the sofa, asking her to put all her packed things into her truck before he disappeared into his room to grab something. She hadn’t brought over much to begin with and the few things she had she could easily put in the boxes she had brought over, so the both of them and Happy were heading out to her truck within an hour.

                “Why are you doing this all of a sudden?” He asked after they had all piled into her truck. She loved smelling the scent of new leather as she glanced back at Happy as she rolled the back window down for him. The big dog was quick to stick his head out of the window as Harry put his seatbelt on. “Your parents don’t want us living together?”

                “No... It's just I sometimes need a bit of space Harry,” she said honestly from the passenger side as she turned back around, hoping that wouldn’t hurt his feelings. Since they were together, it was normal for him to want to be closer but living together at such an early stage in their relationship was something she hadn’t planned on. Yeah they had done it before, but it was under completely different circumstances.

                “I understand,” he muttered after a while as he backed out of his driveway. “But that just means now you’re going to go on more outings with me and I’ll visit more often,” he laughed to himself, springing right back up from a potential mood swing.

                _God please don’t let him be a cling,_ she couldn’t help but think as she shook her head at him. She understood that he missed her, she had missed him too, but he had been a bit much right before he left on tour. She couldn’t say the same for when she had to stick by him while he was sick, but he was starting to become quite attached. “You just can't get enough of me can you Harry?”

                “More like you can’t get enough of me.” He looked away from the road for a moment to give her a smile. “But honestly babe, I do understand how you feel.”

                _Is this the same Harry I met last year?_ Usually, he’d be whining about her leaving before finally giving in, but he’d pout the entire drive to her apartment. _Amazing what six months of being away from him does…_ she thought quietly as they drove the rest of the way in silence. They didn’t begin talking again until he pulled into the garage off the side of her apartment complex, putting the truck into park and hopping out to grab her boxes full of clothes and toiletry products.

                “This it?” he repeated the familiar phrase of last summer as he picked up two large cardboard boxes from the backseat.

                “Yep!” She grabbed the end of Happy’s leash, leading the both of them to her building.

                “This sure is heavy. What do you have in here, bricks?” Harry laughed as they headed up the elevator to the third floor. He had adjusted the boxes in his hands several times along the way, but she didn’t think it would be anything he couldn’t manage.

                “You sure are in a good mood today,” she laughed with him as the elevator opened on her floor. She stepped out before him, dropping Happy’s leash. She knew the big dog would follow her anywhere she went, so she’d free her hands to get her key card from her purse. _Then again, Harry’s always been in a good mood since we got together._

                “Why wouldn’t I be?” He watched her unlock her room door before letting him walk in first and then she closed the door behind all three of them. Happy immediately weaved past Harry’s legs to trot over to his dog bed right under the living room window, immensely happy to be reunited with his rawhide chew. “I’ve got you to talk to everyday and see as much as I want. We aren’t under Liam's stupid contract anymore.” He stopped talking briefly in order to drop her boxes off on the floor of her bedroom once she showed him to it. He then stood back up to his full height, letting out a breath before continuing. “So that means you and I are in the real deal now.”

_He’s so happy with us being together..._ She couldn’t help but blush with the way he was smiling and looking at her as if he she meant everything to him. “I’m not that fun to talk to,” she tried to laugh him off as they headed back to her living room. The last time he was in her room he had seen her nearly naked. It was something she didn’t want to think about or him to remember at all, even if he had complimented her.

                “Yeah you are.” Harry’s voice almost came out in disbelief. “Remember how much fun we had last year? And after my birthday party?”

                She held her breath trying not to show the guilt on her face. _Harry’s birthday party..._ Even though they didn’t talk as much back then, she still received an old fashioned invitation in the mail in his handwriting. She would have went, but she couldn’t stand to be there when he was with Natasha and she still had feelings for him. With the way they had broken up he may have said hi but then she’d be stuck hanging out with Niall and Louis for the rest of the night. Even though they did get along, it wasn’t like they were best friends or even friends for that matter. They just knew her as Harry’s friend and she knew them as his friends as well. Plus she didn’t need Louis putting the moves on her or anything weird. He hadn’t really talked to her since they were all in London together, but she had sensed he felt a little _something_ for her.

                _He really wanted me to go so bad_... She remembered briefly he had texted her about the party the day before but she turned him down, lying that she would be out of town for business. She was kind enough though to text him a happy birthday, which he didn’t reply to. _At least I tried..._

                “I guess we do have fun...” she trailed off, not missing the suspicious look he gave her. _Please don’t let him catch on to the fact I lied to him back then…_ “But anyway,” she started, changing the conversation. “Have a seat! Do you want a coke or anything?”

                “Water’s fine!” He called after her as she headed to the kitchen. She let out a breath as she grabbed a bottle of water from one of the side compartments of the refrigerator, taking her time to head back to him. Everything felt a bit different now knowing they were together now. Would he kiss her later today? Would he try to touch her? She crinkled her nose up just before she got to him. She had dated Jake before Harry, but they never got to the kissing phase. They just held hands and he’d occasionally touch her waist. She had dumped him before things got serious, so Harry would be her first for anything serious. _Am I ready for that?_

“Here you go,” Grace said quietly as she sat down by him on the sofa. He muttered a thanks before unscrewing the lid and drinking half of it in one go.

                “Thirsty,” he breathed, placing the bottle on the table near her sofa on his side. He glanced over at Happy who was still noisily chewing on his treat before turning back to his girlfriend. “So… what do you want to do now?”

                She shrugged, meeting his eyes briefly. She hadn’t planned on doing anything special today with him even though the last time they had been out together was the Ed Sheeran concert three days ago. He had went out on his own since then, and she had went out alone as well or with Happy. If Zayn was in town, she would have chatted with him for a bit but instead she worked on typing up her resignation letter in the peace and quiet of the park.

                Suddenly the idea hit her: they could go head out to a cute little store she was thinking about going to while he was knocked out on his meds in bed several weeks ago. She would have went alone but shopping was boring alone, especially when she had Harry as a potential shopping partner. Unfortunately that included him paying for _everything_ , which she didn’t mind even though she tried to talk him out of it sometimes, but he always made her feel better when she thought something wouldn’t look good on her body type. It was even fun watching him shop at his high end stores with a small smile on his face when he turned to show her something he liked.

                Just before she could tell him about her idea there was a knock at the door that had Happy perking his ears up slightly at the sound. Harry raised his eyebrows at her as she shrugged. “I didn’t plan on having anyone over,” she muttered as she stood to her feet, giving Harry an apologetic look. _Maybe it’s a delivery. I did order a new lamp for the living room or maybe it’s Heather from work checking in? I haven’t really been answering her messages come to think of it…_

                Despite all of her thoughts on who it could possibly be, she would have never have guessed the man she never wanted to see again in her life was behind the door of her own apartment.

                “Chester?” she said a bit louder than she meant, trying to keep her jaw from dropping to the floor in surprise. _Just how…? What the hell? How did he even figure out my address? Is he a stalker_? “What are you-?”

                “I just had to see if you were alright.” His voice came out rushed but he looked relived as he pushed his messy, curly hair out of his face. “You haven’t been answering your phone or emails! You haven’t been into work either!”

                _Well there’s a reason I haven’t been answering back…_ Not wanting to be rude or mean to him she simply replied with, “Well I’m fine... You don’t need to worry about me-”

                “Dad’s been asking about you...” he cut her off again, this time putting his arms right above her head to rest his hands on the door frame. He was way too close for comfort now. _I can smell his cologne…_ “He wants you to come in ASAP...” Chester trailed off, his pretty brown eyes going from her face to something behind her before he muttered, “Oh…”

                Grace suddenly felt Harry’s presence behind her but didn’t turn to look at him when his chest touched her back. “Is there a problem here?” he asked calmly, putting one hand on the door frame right above Grace’s head as well. This motion caused Chester to step back and to remove his hands, but he was still way closer than she wanted him to be.

                “What’s he doing here?” Chester pointed the question at Grace as he tried to ignore Harry but the younger man put himself right in the situation again.

                “I’m her boyfriend. What are you doing here?” She felt him tense up against her back, making a cool chill run down her spine. Harry meant business, and she never wanted to be in the way when he got angry. This situation could escalate in a matter of seconds if Chester kept annoying him and she wanted to keep out of it as much as she could.

                “Boyfriend?” Chester snorted at him as if not believing the idea before stepping way out of line. “I’m here to check in on her like a good friend, something you’d never be,” he spat, his accent becoming more pronounced.

                “Chester!” Grace started but Harry stopped her, easily moving her out of the way and behind him so he and Chester could be face to face. It was his signal of _I got this._

                “It’s true! He’s done you nothing but wrong hasn’t he?” The older brown eyed man kept talking, not knowing what real danger he was in. Harry may appear to be all soft, and to be into puppies and butterflies by the way he always wanted to have fun or how he never lashed out at the media like his other bandmates did, but he was no softy when it came to her, his family or something he really cared about. It was a rare side of him she had witnessed and never wanted to see again.

                “You stay out of our relationship!” Harry blocked him off completely from Grace, making the conversation between the two men instead. “You don’t know shit about what goes on between us.”

                “I know enough that you’re a liar to get whatever you want. You’ll lie to her, just like you lied to all those other women.”

                “Who did I lie to? Huh?” Harry flicked his eyebrows up, crossing his arms over his chest.

                “Do you need me to bring up last summer when you cheated on Grace, or the fact that you lied to Natasha about _everything?_ ”

                Grace wanted to laugh at the fact that Chester thought the whole cheating scandal was real, but the lying part to his ex got her interested. Just what did Chester know that she didn’t, or was he making up lies to make Harry look bad in front of her? It was none of her business what he and Natasha had done together, but yet she was still curious.

                Harry half laughed, going to shake his head before pushing his hair out of his face as well. It was still crazy to Grace how similar these two were; they could pass as half-brothers if they wanted with the way Chester’s hair curled and his facial structure was nearly identical to Harry’s minus the fact Harry’s nose was a bit more European and Chester’s was more Hispanic. The only things that made them different were eye color, Chester’s freckles and his aggressive attitude sometimes.

                “Yeah _laugh_ douchebag. Laugh at how you can’t even deny everything you’ve done. Laugh all you want, that won’t ever change what a disgusting person you are and Grace would never go back to you if you were the last person on earth!”

                “Well technically we are _together_ Chester. Even though you hate to think of how your new little chess piece has been stolen by the _douchebag,_ that’s a reality you’re going to have to face.”

                _What are these two talking about?_ She hung back against her door frame, still blocked off by Harry as they continued to go at it. Now it sounded like Chester might have been using her with the way Harry said chess piece. _Well it is possible… They did want me to get back at Harry… Even his dad said it in our interview._

                “Yeah?” The older man’s brown eyes flicked from Harry and briefly to the little glimpse he got of Grace. “She’s using you man; don’t forget she signed up with _us_ \- the people that know every little thing you’ve done, how you fucked up more than you can fix. Do you think she’d love you if she signed up with us? The people that hate your very existence? Not such a loving girlfriend now, is she? If she really loved you, she wouldn’t have worked against you.”

                Grace was about to step in on how he was going too far but once again Harry beat her to it, this time getting physical as he suddenly grabbed Chester by the collar of his button up, slamming the nearly equal height man against the opposite wall of the hall. It was a move that took both of them by surprise, making Grace cringe and Chester flinch. “Don’t you dare bring that shit up to my face,” the younger man growled just barely above a whisper. Grace couldn’t see his face from this angle, but she had to imagine how scary he must have looked. “I want you to take your scrawny little ass back down this hall, out of this building and don’t let me _ever_ see your face again. Got it?”

                Chester seemed taken aback at how fast Harry had moved and the fact that he out of all people had gotten up in his face. He pushed the younger man off of him quickly, nearly looking like he wanted to spit in his face as he cowered away like a coyote. Grace wasn’t sure what she’d do if these two broke out in a fist fight; it was something that was way out of her hands with how much stronger the both of them were than her. Neither one of them were body builders, but Harry did work out from time to time and she did not want to be in the way of one of his swings.

                Even though the model was slinking away he did take one last look at Grace before saying, “I know you aren’t together, do _not_ cover for him!”

                _God does he not know what type of trouble he’ll get into if he keeps on?_

                “Do I have to file a restraining order?” Harry’s voice was loud and booming in the hallway, echoing right off the walls just like when he had yelled at Natasha. He meant serious business now.

                Afraid that her neighbors would start peeking out of their rooms in concern Grace went over to Harry, grabbing his upper arm harshly as she told the two men that was enough. “Chester please leave. You’ve caused enough trouble already.”

                “Trouble? Look at all the trouble _he’s_ caused in everyone’s life!” He shot right back, seeming to have recovered from his little scuffle with Harry.

                “You know what…” Grace let out an exhausted breath, heading back into her apartment briefly to grab the resignation letter she had typed up off the dining room table. She returned within seconds to shove the page long report into Chester’s chest before yelling, “I said _leave._ Take _that_ to your father. It should explain everything to you once you read it over. I’m with _him_ not you. Remember that.” She pointed back at Harry before putting her hands back on her hips in an assertive manner. “I don’t know how you got my address, or what on earth possessed you to come out here, but don’t ever let me see you on my property again. _We’re_ serious about that restraining order and don’t forget I have a dog, and he’ll do _whatever_ I say.”

                Chester snorted in her face, glancing down at the letter with a smirk before his face fell at the words on the paper. “Whatever,” he laughed half to himself as he glanced at both Harry then back at her. “You’ll be sorry you ever got back with him to begin with, and you’ll be sorry you ever double crossed Sun,” were his last words before he retreated down the hallway and to the flight of stairs that would take him to ground floor.

                “Crazy ass man…” Grace breathed when he was out of sight, holding her head in exhaustion. _This is not happening right now…_

                “You alright?” Harry asked as he came up behind her immediately, placing his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

                She nodded, turning to face him. She didn’t know what to quite say yet, trying to take in everything that had happened so fast. _What on earth was Chester talking about lying? And Natasha? Who is even thinking about her? God and he just threatened us… What a mess… What an ugly, ugly mess._

“Hey, relax.” His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he watched her face. “I’m right here and don’t worry about him. He’s a nut job.”

                “Yeah but Harry he just _threatened_ us.” She breathed hard again, this time looking up into his eyes in a sign of help. She didn’t want to ask him about the lying part just yet, she just wanted to know what to do next. If Chester knew where she lived, and knew Harry wouldn’t always be there with her what would he possibly do? He may have been labeled one of the hottest and smartest men by the media, and even though he was a mastermind he could put that mastermind brain of his to some bad motives if he really wanted to. She wouldn’t just be safe with her aging dog who hadn’t even bothered to come out here in the middle of the fight, and she surely couldn’t fight him off on her own. There was no way in the world Harry would get there in time to help her either, and what if he was out of town? _I’ve never been so scared…_

                “Gracie… Don’t look at me like that…” He instinctively hugged her, burying his face into her hair as usual. They stayed that way for a moment, and she fought herself on not crying with how stressful everything had been recently. Harry being in the hospital… Her finally telling him how she felt… How she was so scared she would never get to tell him those feelings… “I want you to come back home with me,” he whispered softly before pulling away to press his forehead against hers.

                “Harry?”

                “I don’t want you staying here alone with him out here. I know you have Happy and all but I don’t trust him. I hate to admit it baby but…” His eyes looked down briefly before returning back to hers. “Sun is a pretty big company and they mean what they say, I know that myself. He’s crazy, he won’t go too far, but I don’t want him harassing you on my watch.”

                “So… we’re living together again?” she asked, still trying to take everything in.

                “Yeah… for now. Get your stuff and I’ll speak with the landlord. We’ll work something out. If it takes longer than I’m thinking and you need me, just call me.” He gave her a brief smile before pulling away completely, giving her shoulder a reassuring pat before he headed down the hall Chester had just ran down to take the elevator to ground floor.

                _As soon as I try to move out without him I have to go back in…_ She sighed as she headed back to the open door of her room. She breathed out of her nose when she caught someone down the hall staring at her, but she chose to ignore him, trying to map out in her head all of the clothing and other necessities she’d need to bring back to Harry’s. She knew dating Harry wouldn’t be an easy task, it wasn’t ever easy when they were faking it, but it was only day three of them being together and _this_ happened.

                “What are we going to do boy?” she asked her dog as he came to greet her in the doorway of her apartment room. She patted him on the head, just hoping that everything would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! So these two lovelies are together now but it seems like everyone and everything is trying to prevent them from being together. But here's the big question: Is there really something Harry is hiding from Grace or was Chester just making it all up? Tune in for future updates to find out! As always, thank you for reading and thank you for your comments and kudos. See you all next update!


	21. Just Visiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the delay again but here's the next update _finally_! I'll let you all get to reading but I do have some important information regarding this story in the end notes. Happy reading!

                “You don’t think he meant it, do you?”

                Harry glanced up from playing on his phone on the opposite side of the sofa to look at Grace. “We’re still on this?”

                Grace shrugged, looking away from him. Despite moving back in with Harry, she couldn’t get Chester’s words out of her mind. She knew the company she used to work for hated Harry and One Direction, for whatever their reasons were, but she never thought it would go this far. Harry had always been there to protect her, but was he really enough? What if something more serious happened?

                “Honestly, don’t worry about it.” He began to scratch at his arm, rubbing his soft arm hair back in the wrong direction. “He’s all mouth. He wouldn’t lay a finger on you. Or us.”

                She let out a sigh, glancing over at her own phone as it sat silently on the table across from them. On top of the whole fight with Chester a few days ago she had another fear playing out in her mind as well. What she hadn’t told Harry yet was she had been receiving weird phone calls the day after the news of her and Harry possibly being together again hit all forms of media. She had ignored the calls at first, thinking it was just an advertising company, but when she answered one day the person calling immediately hung up so it wasn’t an automated service. It was someone playing with her phone, and it wasn’t Liam or Louis this time playing lewd jokes on her. What really bothered her was she didn’t know who on earth it could be either. The only people with her number were a few people at work, the other members of One Direction, a couple of friends she thought she’d give her new number to and of course her family. She had to be really careful with giving her number out after she got tangled up with Harry last year so the number of people that had it were limited.

                _Should I tell him about it?_ She looked back over at Harry to find he was watching her quietly, his eyebrows furrowed just a bit. If Grace knew anything, she already knew what he was going to ask her next after he was done studying her face.

                “What’s the matter? He’s been bothering you or something?” He set his phone down between them both, going to reach for her phone on the table in front of them. He easily unlocked it, having nagged her for her password ages ago. It was only fair since she knew his, but she rarely went through his phone to begin with or wanted to use it for that matter. Whatever he did on his personal phone was his personal business. Just like he gave her privacy on her phone, she’d give him privacy on his.

                “You still talk to Zayn?” he asked quietly as she leaned on him to look at her phone screen as well, her chin resting comfortably on his shoulder. He had opened her messaging app and had found her latest conversation had been with the older man.

                She nodded. “Yeah. Always have.” She watched him for any changes in facial expression or voice but he remained the same, closing out of her messaging and going over to her call log without a sound. “Do you?” she asked curiously. Even though he did admit he was gutted on Zayn’s departure moreso than the other guys he never made mention of Zayn after that, even when he came to visit him in the hospital. _Come to think of it, did he even know Zayn and I flew out to see him together and stayed together the whole time until he was discharged?_

                “Every now and then, not much…” he trailed off, swiping his finger down the list until he found both Heather and Louis’ name. He then closed out of the app, letting out a light chuckle suddenly. “You never told me you had Twitter.”

                “Well I barely use it.” She began to blush, hoping Harry wouldn’t notice. It was true she rarely used it. It was more of a personal account, but still people had found her anyway. Her follower number had increased after everything with Harry, but she kept it pretty quiet and private to prevent mean and aggressive fans from attacking her.

                What she secretly used it for in the past was to sometimes check up on Harry when he was out of town for his tours and promotional activities. Even though she did have his number, it was still amusing to see what he was tweeting about to his fans, even if it was a random picture of a dog peeing on a fire hydrant he found entertaining.

                “I would follow you… but I don’t want anymore unnecessary drama. I think we both have enough of that.” She silently agreed with him as he opened the app, immediately going to her profile. “I’ve never seen this picture before?” He clicked on the profile picture to enlarge it before looking over his shoulder at her.

                “It’s because you didn’t ask…” She wanted to hide her face from him but they were sitting way too close for her to even try unless she ducked behind his shoulder. It wasn’t a particularly embarrassing picture, it was just one of her and Happy this past winter where he had his winter jacket on.

                “It’s cute…I want it. Send it to me, ok Gracie?” He turned away from her, going to go back through her latest tweets.

                “New spring photoshoot today! Can’t wait!” he mocked her latest tweet with a laugh as he talked in a high pitched voice, making her reach for her phone to get it back but he held her off with one hand. “Swim suit shoot up next,” he laughed, easily leaning his body away from her. “This has 207 likes and _I_ didn’t know about it?” He turned to look at her briefly.

                “We weren’t talking back then!”

                “So? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you in a swim suit before…”

                “Don’t get any wild ideas.” She felt another blush coming on. He had seen her in her panties before and he had seen cleavage before, but seeing her in a swim suit was something he wouldn’t get from her in months if she could help it.

                “You still are something else…” he laughed, turning back to her phone as he laid down on his stomach on the sofa, propping himself up with his elbows with Grace sitting right in front of his side on the small space that was remaining. He went to go look through her pictures, a smile seeming to be permanently stuck on his face as he went through each picture. He burst into a full grin when he saw she had posted the very first picture the two of them had taken together last summer.

                “We do look really good together,” he said quietly, mostly to himself. “6,940 likes, 5,975 retweets… You’re almost on my level.”

                “Harry stop it!” She leaned over on his back to retrieve her phone yet again but he just fanned her away.

                “Oh? Who’s this?” He asked when he exited out of their picture together and got down far enough into her things to find an old picture of her and Jake.

                “That’s…” she paused for a moment, making him look back at her. The two of them rarely talked about past relationships; it wasn’t anything she was interested in and Harry probably wasn’t interested in her old boyfriend either. They were too busy trying to move on in their new relationship to care about those kinds of things.

                “That’s Jake,” she finished, meeting Harry’s eyes finally. “He was my ex-boyfriend. The one we kinda talked about last year.”

                “Oh him…” He looked away from her to scroll back up her page to look at her followers. He didn’t say anything else as he easily found himself in her following list, the smile returning to his face again. Before he could speak though there was a knock at the door, Happy not even bothering to alert them as he slept soundly in the new dog bed she had bought for him over the weekend near the fireplace.

                “Should just be Niall.” Harry grunted as he sat himself up, slipping past Grace as he handed her phone back. “Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but he said he would stop in today.” He gave her an apologetic look before going to check the monitor by his door and greet his friend.

                _Would’ve been nice to know…_ she thought as she looked down at what she was wearing, a simple white tank and a pair of thigh length shorts. It was a bit cool outside, but the summer months were quickly approaching LA. Besides, Harry’s condo was always hot for some reason despite how they tried to lower the temperature to a comfortable setting. She just guessed it was from his constant moving around and wanting to literally lay on top of her half of the time they were together.

                “… you look _so_ much better,” she heard Niall’s voice come from the entranceway before the shorter man appeared in the living room with Harry right behind him. His bleached blonde hair was hidden under a cap today and he seemed to have just thrown on whatever was comfortable. He still looked good, it just wasn’t how Grace was used to seeing him.

                “I feel better too!” Harry motioned for his friend to sit down on the sofa with them and it was then that Grace noticed Niall was acting a bit peculiar.

                Normally he would have greeted her warmly and asked how she and Happy were, but the older man froze up a bit, his blue eyes seeming to harden for a bit until they slightly softened as he greeted her in a lower tone.

                _What’s his issue?_ She said hi back, watching as he took the far end of the sofa as always with Harry sitting between them both. _Come to think of it…_ _He has been acting a bit weird though since I took Harry to the airport… We rarely talk to each other but this is weird. Wonder what his deal is?_

“How are you today missy?” he finally asked more normally this time after he and Harry went back and forth for a while to catch up. “Didn’t think you were still here with Harold.”

                “Just fine,” she barely got a chance to say before Harry excitedly announced they were living together again.

                “Oh…” Niall trailed off, looking a bit puzzled before he smiled at his friend. “So that means… you two are finally together?”

                The younger man nodded. “Yeah, _finally_ ,” he laughed quietly, glancing back at Grace. When was Harry never not happy to be with her?

                “Wait until Payno hears this…” A smile came to Niall’s face briefly but Grace could tell it was fake. She barely saw Niall, but even she could tell something was very wrong. “You two took long enough!”

                “Her fault mostly,” Harry joked, starting to blush. “But yeah… we’re together now.”

                _Harry’s over here having the time of his life and Niall’s looking shiftier than ever,_ she couldn’t help but think as the two continued to talk.

                “Have you gotten anything to eat or drink while you’ve been here? Let me grab you a drink!” Harry suddenly said, getting up and heading to his kitchen before Niall could agree or disagree. In his absence, the two of them fell into an awkward silence.

                “So… you flew in from London?” Grace tried a few moments later when Harry didn’t show up. _Where is he?_

                The older man nodded. “Wanted to see how Harry was holding up.” He then paused for a moment, as if picking out his words or deciding on whether he should say something or not. He then began to speak again, concluding he would go on with it. “I… I don’t know I just didn’t expect you to still be here. No hard feelings… He did tell us you were staying with him to take care of him before he left London but…”

                “But what?” She watched him curiously as he would not make eye contact with her. Instead he focused on Happy still sound asleep in his bed.

                “Just… this whole thing with you… him… Natasha… Everything.” He finally looked up at her. “Harry’s always talked about you… _tons_ to us… He barely said anything about Natasha… but I’m guessing that’s history?” He took in a breath before he continued. “I don’t know I just don’t understand Harry’s thoughts sometimes I guess, especially when it’s playing with people’s emotions-”

                “Wait Niall, what?” Grace stopped him, feeling a lump rise in her throat. Chester had said something along the same lines the other day about him lying, but it seemed to be on Natasha’s side, not hers. What was going on between all of these guys or what did she not know about?

                Niall was about to continue talking until Harry appeared again, handing off a Sprite to his older bandmate. “What are you two looking so serious about over here?”

                “Just talking about you,” Niall said honestly. Before Harry could ask more he continued, “You know I wasn’t staying long buddy, I just wanted to see how you were and if you’re ready to go back on tour.”

                “Tour…” The younger man sighed, looking down into his lap. “I know they’re pushing for it but it’s important I let this thing completely heal up. Right Gracie?”

                She nodded, wondering why he suddenly wanted her input. Harry had been fine over the past few days, seeming to snap right back into his old self. _Maybe he’s just not ready for the stress and activity of touring again though? Last thing we need is another accident._

“If you say so but remember Harold, we’re _all_ in this together.”

                There was a pause between them both as they exchanged looks, Harry looking away first as Grace watched them both. Something _wasn’t_ right here. Niall was always chipper and joking around, and so was Harry. Why did it look like Niall wanted to kill him right now, and on top of that why was Harry looking slightly guilty?

                “Yeah I know,” he said quietly, biting his bottom lip. “I’ll be ready soon. I’ll call one of you guys when I am.”

                The older blonde nodded, his eyes briefly going over to Grace before resting back on his Sprite can. “Well… I am glad you’re feeling better mate but I better get going. Besides, I can see you two were probably _busy_.” He gave Grace a small smile, this time not looking at Harry. “Play it safe and I’ll keep in touch. I’ll see you both around!”

                “Yeah, see you Niall! Take care!” She waited on Harry to walk him to the door but the younger man didn’t. Instead his gaze stayed fixed on the coffee table in front of them just as her phone started to vibrate. She leaned forward to see who it was and the same name that had been calling her over the past few days popped up.

                **_Unknown._**

                Since Harry seemed to be in a bit of a daze she answered it, only just getting out a hello before whoever it was hung up again. She placed her phone back down in her lap when he turned to look at her. She wasn’t sure if he was looking like he was out of it because of whatever was going on between him and Niall, or if he was curious on who had called her but in the end she knew something wasn’t right.

                Something was not right at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are really starting to get sketchy now aren't they? 
> 
> But anyway... It's been a while guys but I just wanted to give you all a heads up on some important info on this story. Unfortunately LFK updates will be a bit more on the slow side. I have to focus on school first and other things in my life so updates will have to be over my holidays/breaks. There will be this update over my fall break, one or two over Thanksgiving Break (provided I'm not out of town or other plans arise), and then updates will be back to normal over Christmas Break when I'm done with school. I do really apologize for the lack of updates and I'd love to post more for you guys, but I really don't want to rush this story or any of its scenes. I don't want to give you guys chapters that are rushed and thrown together just for the sake of having weekly updates either. I rather drag it out this way in order to give you all quality content that I've sat down with and thought through for days or weeks. I really hope you all understand the situation but I promise you it's all for the best, even if there is a bit of a wait between updates.
> 
> As always, thank you so so _so_ much for reading this story and giving your support to it in the forms of comments, bookmarks and subs, or even just in kudos. Every little thing means so much to me, and every time I get a kudos and see that somebody out there in the world likes this story it puts a smile on my face. In return I always hope this story makes you smile and even laugh too at its funny moments. Thank you all again and I'll see you next update!


	22. Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time you've all been waiting for, it's update day! It feels so weird, in a good way of course, to be back and working on this story again and I hope you all are as happy as I am to be getting back to it. We'll pick up right where we left out: Figuring out if Niall or Chester has any merits to their words. Thank you all for your patience and happy reading!

                Thankfully, the next day was more gracious on the both of them. To clear her mind, Grace had decided to take Happy out early in the morning to play at the dog park this time around instead of a brisk morning walk. She usually took him to the dog park by herself but today Harry decided he’d tag along, perhaps to also relax from the tense conversation with Niall yesterday. He was pretty confident they wouldn’t get mobbed or papped since it was so early in the morning and most people were at either work or school.

                “ _Besides, it’s a dog park. What’s the worst that can happen?” he laughed as they exited his condo together._

                “We’ve been all over the news,” Harry said quietly as he broke the silence between them both. They sat across from one another at a picnic table as Happy frolicked with a few other dogs not too far away.

                _He must be looking through Twitter or something…_ “I’ve heard.” She smiled a bit to herself as Harry looked back down at his phone but she couldn’t help to cringe inwardly. Being in the center of attention was something she wasn’t very fond of, especially when it came to being with Harry. She could handle people running their mouths and saying silly things, but what she didn’t like was all the negative attention they were receiving this time around. It was understandable though, people were confused on what on earth happened between the both of them.

                It didn’t take long for more news to get out about them dating seriously once again. Grace barely paid attention to the news on them but she did know most people were confused about the whole situation, some even mad. What about the cheating rumors last year? Why did she take him back after everything? What about Natasha?

                She breathed hard out of her mouth at that name, making Harry look up at her curiously. What on earth had happened between her and Harry, and what was Niall talking about? What was _everyone_ talking about?

                _Maybe Zayn knows?_ No... The older man didn’t seem to really be in touch with Harry anymore. Besides, if he knew anything, he would have told her.

_What about Louis? He has to know something. No... Last time I tried to worm it out of him he told me it wasn’t my place to know unless Harry himself told me._

                “Gracie?” Harry called her name gently, having put his phone away minutes ago.

                “Oh sorry, just thinking...” She looked over her shoulder briefly to make sure her dog was playing nicely. Last thing she needed was an angry owner coming after her if Happy decided to get too rough with a Chihuahua. She just wanted today to be peaceful for once, for both her and Harry.

                “You’ve been doing that a lot recently...” He looked concerned as he drummed his fingers on the table, his eyes slowly studying her face. “You know… I’m always here to listen if you need me to.”

                “Yeah I know... It’s just a lot has gone on between us recently… which makes there a lot to think about.” She finally met his eyes, nearly instantly being relaxed by the cool green.

                “Yeah... It has.” He gave her a small, warm smile as if to make her feel better. “Nothing we can’t do though, right?”

                She nodded, trying to piece together her thoughts again. Should she just call Harry out on his past business with Natasha right now or let him tell her on his own? Maybe she didn't need to know... but would Harry ever tell her? What if he never did? One thing was certain though, she definitely needed to tell him about the phone calls, and now was a good time as any. She could wait on the Natasha business, he might tell her in time, but this had to be dealt with now.

                “Hey Harry,” she started, trailing off a bit as he kept eye contact. “I’ve been getting... weird calls recently.”

                “Like what?” He raised his eyebrows at her as a gentle breeze began to blow through the park. His curly hair picked up on it, lightly blowing to the side. “Is that Chester creep calling you?” He frowned a bit at the name and Grace could only imagine how much Harry probably wanted to pummel that _stuck up brat_ as he called him.

                “I honestly don’t know...” She let out a sigh, pushing a few strands of hair out of her face that had gotten loose from her ponytail. “Harry this person calls and I know it’s not like some weird advertising agency because as soon as I pick up, they hang up. Sometimes there’s even breathing on the line before they do and there’s no return number! It just says unknown or private!”

                “Weird...” He grabbed one of his hairbands from around his wrist, going to put his hair up as it continued to blow in his face.

                “Very weird,” she agreed hoping he would be better help than this. Everyone got random calls sometimes, but this couldn’t be overlooked. Someone was doing this on purpose.

                “We can get it traced if you want. Or get it blocked. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable. This person is obviously trying to freak you out.”

                She watched as he effortlessly pulled his hair into a bun, going to rest his hands back on the table when he was done. With his hair pulled up like this she had to admire his cheekbones and his ears. They were so cute and tiny! _God how did I get so lucky to end up with him?_ She shook her head as she tried to clear her thoughts before saying, “You don’t think it’s a weird fan?”

                “Nope. We get harassed a lot but phone number slips barely happen, especially our girlfriends. We change our numbers a lot anyway... It’s someone else, but that Chester guy...” Harry bit his lip as he went deep into thought for several moments. He then looked back up again, his expression turning serious. “I don’t think it’s him.”

                “Why not?” She frowned at him, not expecting that answer at all. Who else would play with her phone? Liam or Louis didn’t do creepy tricks like this, and people from work were professional, they wouldn’t do it either. It _had_ to be Chester!

                “Because,” Harry said over the dogs barking in the distance. “He’d do a more public approach. Sun likes to subtly put people down. But... I could tell he liked you a lot so I doubt he’d come after you. He’s coming for me if anything.”

                “Well that’s just great,” she said sarcastically as Happy finally walked over to her, putting his paws up in her lap as she stroked his head. _From one thing to another..._ She couldn’t help but to feel bad about the whole thing as Happy went to lick her arm. Why couldn’t people just leave them alone? Why did they always have to cause trouble? “Look I’m sorry about all this,” she started but Harry stopped her.

                “There you go apologizing! Gracie none of this is your fault, don’t sweat it. Any of it.” He watched as Happy sat down beside her and ignored the other dogs as they began to roughhouse not too far away. It was a signal he was ready to go home. “Just... Relax ok? We’ll be alright. Things are just crazy right now because we’re public and a new couple again. It’ll calm down soon enough.”

                She nodded in response, deep down hoping he was right as she clipped Happy’s leash on his collar. Last summer when they had faked everything it was wild, but after a point it did begin to slowly taper down. Hopefully it would this time too.

                “You trust me on that?” He asked just before she could leave the table.

                _This again…_ “Yeah... I do,” she said after a moment of silence. Harry never had let anything bad happen to her, even when they were faking. If anyone said anything wrong to her, he’d cover for her and he tried his absolute best to always make her feel better. She could honestly say she trusted him one hundred percent even though he had let her down once. _Well no one’s perfect..._

                “Good.” His lips suddenly pulled into a smile as he dramatically stood up, putting both hands on the table in front of them. “I’m starving! Let’s get some lunch!”

                _Only you Harry..._ She couldn't help but laugh as she got up as well, leading Happy behind her while she followed Harry back to her truck. They’d take her dog home before possibly heading out in his car for the rest of the afternoon as they enjoyed the late spring weather.

                Even though Grace had doubted dating Harry before, she knew she wouldn’t trade this in for anything. As he talked animatedly while they walked together towards her truck about what food he was dying to have she couldn’t help but smile.

                Even though things were getting a bit rough everything would be alright.

 

* * *

                “You’re not eating your food,” Harry complained as he stared at her from the opposite side of the dining table.

                “I don’t eat as fast as you! You’re always eating like we’re in some race or something.” She let out a sigh as she looked back over the table at him, trying to defend herself and get him to stop nitpicking about everything.

                _But he is right…_ Even after talking to him and trying to converse about different topics, she couldn’t get the thoughts out of her head about this big secret everyone was in on but her. She had barely touched her French Toast and she absolutely loved the sweet bread, especially when there was cinnamon on top. _Here we go again… Losing my appetite because of something related to Harry. How pathetic._

                “You’re still worried… I can tell.” He glanced over the restaurant before leaning in closer to her. “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. We’ve done this before.”

                “Yeah but it’s not _that_ ,” she let it slip, wishing she could take it back as Harry frowned at her. As much as she wanted to ask him, it wasn’t any of her business unless he told her, just like Louis said.

                “Then _what_ is it? What, are you mad at me again for something?”

                “When was I ever mad at you?”

                “Don’t forget two days ago when you yelled at me for leaving toothpaste in the sink.”

                “Harry that was ages ago. I’m way over that. I wasn’t _that_ mad to begin with.” She let out another sigh as she started picking at the strawberries she had cast away to the far edges of her plate minutes ago from her delicious French toast.

                “Whatever you say.” He let out a sigh as well, leaning back in his seat. “You know, we _always_ talk stuff out. You can always tell me whatever is on your mind.”

                “You’re one to talk,” she couldn’t help but to say under her breath but Harry still heard her anyway.

                “God, are we going to go back to last year with these passive aggressive comments? Just _tell_ me what’s going on or at least tell me you don’t want to talk about it right now. Just _something_!”

                _Today was supposed to be relaxing and here we go…_ She cringed a bit when Harry raised his voice at her and she was hoping no one on the other side of the restaurant was a fan or knew who he was to record this. Last thing she wanted was a fight in a public area; even if their side was clear of people, she certainly didn’t want to hear about this in the news on how they were yelling at each other in a breakfast joint.

                “How about this… will you answer any questions I ask you?” she tried, lowering her voice and hoping he would do the same.

                He frowned at her a bit, probably wondering what on earth she was going on about. “Well… depends. What is it?”

                “It’s…” she paused, wondering if this was ok to talk about in public. She didn’t need this to escalate to another level with either of them walking out on one another. As much as she wanted to know what was going on, she still didn’t feel comfortable asking him this right now. She had to at least try once again though, right?

                “It’s… Harry I’ve been hearing some things about this past winter with you and…” she paused again, watching his facial expressions for any more signs of irritation before continuing. When it seemed she was in the green she kept going. “… her… and I know we don’t really want to talk about our past relationships and all but I can’t help but wonder Harry, was she the one that caused all of _this_. The stress, the fainting, the hospital…?” She trailed off to leave it open ended in hopes he’d fill in the gaps.

                He stared at her in silence for a moment before letting out a long sigh. _Please don’t let him get mad…_ “Remember how we said the golden rule was not to believe anything the media says?”

                “Yeah but it’s _not_ the media Harry. I could care less about them. It’s other people.”

                “What other people? And what about me and her? Yeah she stressed me out a bit, I stressed myself out a bit, it was mostly a _me_ thing if anything.” He looked sad for a moment, his eyes not meeting hers. “Gracie honestly… stop worrying about these things.” He finally met her eyes as he leaned back on the table again, using his arms for support. “She and I are done, there never will be anything else. And for the stress thing… I’m going to be honest with you here because this is what you want but…” He paused for a moment, his eyes glancing over at the waitress as she took his finished plate away. He continued talking when she had left, nodding a thanks. “There’s still _a lot_ of things I can’t tell you. I’m not doing it on purpose, it’s just… better you don’t know. Sometimes things… they have to stay in the band and with me. But I am fine, everything will be ok, and stop worrying.” He gave her a small smile and in his own special way she knew he was trying to make her feel better. “Everything’s going to be ok. We went over this countless times… and I thought I was the worrywart here.”

                She continued to look at him, trying to take everything in. _So this is a band thing… He still didn’t answer my question on Natasha but perhaps I really don’t need to know. From what Niall said it seemed like he used her or something? This is so confusing…_

“Just trust me, ok?” He added when she didn’t speak.

                She would have asked more but the waitress had appeared again, this time with the check.

                _Maybe it’s just time I let these thoughts die… He’s obviously not going to tell me what went down between them and it’s something personal to him…_

                “Yeah, ok,” she agreed as he signed the bill after placing his credit card on the table.

                There was silence between them after that, making Grace think she had annoyed him too much. Even though it rarely happened anymore, she could still remember how Harry would give her the cold shoulder when he really didn’t like what was going on between them. _Hopefully he’s not going back to that again…_

                “Why are you so worried about it anyway?” He finally broke the silence as they exited the restaurant together, bringing her fears to a stop.

                “Just like you like to know things, I do too. Unless it’s private or something… and I can tell this one is,” she said honestly, feeling no better about any of this. She knew this had to be about the third time she asked him about it but she was concerned on what was going on. Last thing she needed was for him to go back out on tour again feeling nearly the same way when he left before. _Whatever, I can’t force it out of him…_ “But anyway… today’s supposed to be a relaxer from everything else that’s been going on.” She looked up at him to give him a little smile as she tried to change the conversation.

                “I’ll tell you when the time is right…” He reached out to grab her hand, returning the smile. “Since we’re still being honest here… Sometimes a man has to think things through for himself before he tells anyone anything. That’s what… this is like. I’m not doing it to hurt you or anything Gracie, you know that more than anything.”

                “Yeah I know…” she squeezed his larger hand, instantly comforted by how warm it was. He always was warm and soft, and she could never get enough of just being by his side.

                “So let’s just relax while we can, alright?” He squeezed her hand back harder in a playful manner. He then looked away from her, scanning the street they were on as they headed back to his car. “It’s still early in the morning… anything you want to do?”

                She shrugged, looking around as well. She and Harry rarely walked the streets this early in the morning. It was always late afternoon or evening, sometimes even the night. “Anywhere you want to go, or would you rather just head back?”

                “Well, we’re both free tomorrow so if you’d want we can just rest today? I have a feeling I’m going to have a major stomachache later,” he laughed, pushing his hair out of his face with his free hand. “Eggs… are not my best friend.”

                “Then why did you eat them?” Grace’s voice came out more alarmed than she meant, making Harry laugh harder.

                “Because they’re _good_! Don’t you eat things too that are good but bad for you at the same time? Like how you ate my whole tub of chocolate ice cream last week?”

                “That was not me!” She frowned at him as he continued to laugh.

                “Well who else could it be?”

                “I don’t know Harry, who else lives in the house besides me?”

                He got that look on his face before speaking next, letting her know he was going to say something ridiculous. “Happy.”

                “Dogs can’t eat chocolate Harry.”

                “Yours can.”

                She shook her head, letting out a laugh to herself at this conversation as they neared his Mercedes. “You’re something else.”

                “That’s my line.” He grabbed her door for her, hopping into his side quickly afterwards and starting up the engine. “So… we all good today?”

                She nodded, honestly feeling better after their silly conversation. “Yeah. Let’s just go back home and rest up. We can watch a movie later or play a few games.”

                “I like that idea.” He adjusted his rearview mirror before putting on his seatbelt and pulling out of the parking spot. “Me, you, and the sofa.” He smiled to himself as they pulled up to a red light, putting his arm out the window.

                _Leave it to Harry to turn a potentially bad day good…_ She looked out of her own window as he hummed along to some song on the radio, thinking about what tomorrow could possibly bring. All in all, the both of them just deserved another calm day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Harry does have some tricks up his sleeve, but will it be for better or worse? I'm sure you all want to know the answer to the big question of this story, but you'll just have to keep reading to find out!
> 
> Thank you all for reading and once again thank you for your patience as well as your support to this story. It still means a lot to me that you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it. I always hope each update brings a little happiness to your life, no matter what's going on in your day. Thank you again for your lovely comments/kudos/subs and as always, I'll see you next update! It'll be sooner than you think :)


	23. Familiar Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wait is finally over, the next update is out! I'm finally done with classes ~~physics and orgo I'm never going to miss you~~ so that means more updates for you guys in these upcoming weeks! This chapter is a bit of a long one and you guys will be introduced to a new character that has been mentioned quite a bit in this series. You may love 'em, you may hate 'em but nevertheless, happy reading!

                _I just can’t do this…_

                Even though both Harry and Grace had the day off, she couldn’t simply lay around in the house all day with Harry like last night. After a full evening and night of cuddling with him on the sofa she decided she wanted to do something a bit more active in the morning.

                That’s when she decided she wanted to do something a bit special for him today.

                She had come up with the scheme just before she fell asleep, knowing Harry was sound asleep in his own room after he had fallen asleep on her twice on the sofa. In order to complete her mission though, she needed to get up before him and not wake him up before she could leave the condo.

                “Harry’s going to want to tag along if he knows I’m going anywhere,” she told Happy even though he couldn’t understand her or talk back as she wrote out a note on the paper Harry kept on the kitchen counter closest to the living room. As much as she did love having Harry around and hanging out with him, sometimes she wanted to get out on her own too.

                _Went out for a bit, so don’t you worry! I’ll be back before the evening so text me if you need anything. See you then!_

                What she didn’t write down was exactly where she was going, not because she thought he would show up unexpected, it was just because she wanted to surprise him today with something nice. _He’s always gifting me things and he never stopped buying me things last year. It’s time to give back._

                She left the note hanging by a frog magnet on the refrigerator door, just like he had always done when he went out alone so neither of them would get panicked at the other being missing. The last thing she needed today was for him to bombard her phone with text messages on where she had went or worse, come out looking for her and make a scene.

                _He’s gotten better about that since last summer though…_ She shook her head, just remembering how he barely let her leave the house without him. It was like he was a parent that wouldn’t let their child out of view.

                “But I’m not going out alone if I have you.” She glanced down at Happy as he wagged his tail slowly at her, ready to be on his way to whatever exciting place she was taking him.

                “Let’s go,” she said quietly as she grabbed his leash, exiting out of the condo with her dog padding right behind her. Even though he was with her, she still did feel a bit nervous about leaving the condo without Harry. It was one of those fears that truly never did go away.

                _Come on Grace you can do this… You’re not as popular as Harry anyway so no one should bother us._ She led Happy out to her SUV parked in the driveway, knowing for sure no one weird would be directly outside the building. Harry had told her he updated his legal papers on the paparazzi or other weird people trying to hang around his house, so there was nothing to really worry about.

                “In you go.” She let Happy into the passenger side before she shut the door and headed over to the driver’s side, hoping Harry wouldn’t hear the noise, but then again he was a heavy sleeper. Once he was out, he was out for several hours at a time unless it was to stumble to the bathroom at three in the morning.

                Grace already knew what she wanted to buy Harry as both she and Happy headed over to one of his less expensive favorite shops with the radio off. She decided on letting the wind blow through the open windows, allowing Happy to stick his head out every now and then. She now had plenty of money from her past job, and she might as well put it to good use for once. She had just convinced Harry to let her pay for at least a fourth of utilities and rent while she stayed with him, but other than that she spent most of her money on paying for Happy’s food and necessities, and special items she wanted or needed for herself. Besides, Harry probably didn’t want to know about or pay for a box of pads or get her that new bra she really needed. Sometimes she just wanted to treat herself to a tub of chocolate ice cream, something he still had no business knowing about.

                “This is nice isn’t it,” she said aloud once again to her dog as he stared out of the windshield at the traffic and a few pedestrians. She hadn’t really gotten a chance to take him on car rides since she moved back in with Harry, and she was sure he appreciated. The dog park was fun and all, but she knew ever since the first day she brought the Lab mix home he absolutely loved to ride in her car. “Weather’s great, not too many people are out, it’s slightly quieter without Harry talking nonstop…” she laughed a little, reaching over to pet Happy behind the ears as she stopped at a red light. “But we still love him, don’t we boy?”

                Happy let out a mix between a growl and a bark as he turned away from her, perhaps protesting that he didn’t like Harry as much as she did in doggy language. The two had gotten along better but Harry still hated the idea of Happy even being on his furniture or being sneaky to quickly gobble down the remains of his dinner from the coffee table while he stepped away. The slightly older man did like dogs, just not when he came back to find Happy happily eating his chicken dinner.

                The car ride was peaceful and quiet until they arrived on the street the store was on. She knew it would be a bit of a hassle to find a parking spot, but luckily she found one not too far down from the store.

                _I wonder if he misses going out in public like a normal person,_ she thought about Harry briefly as she hopped out of her side of the car, going to grab Happy from his side. It wasn’t too hot outside and she knew it wouldn’t take too long to get what she wanted, but she wouldn’t dare leave him in the car. _Even I miss going out without being recognized sometimes…And hopefully today I won’t either._

The news on them both being together again had calmed down significantly when the paps couldn’t get anymore pictures of them out together since the Ed Sheeran concert. She knew the fans were probably still getting things since they happened to be everywhere, but the big media companies hadn’t said much of anything here recently. She didn’t know if Harry kept up with the status or not, but she had and she was glad it was calming down.

                The walk to the clothing store was quiet as well, no one pointing her out, only children wanting to sometimes pet Happy. She did notice a few guys try to catch her eye but she ignored it. Last thing she needed was to end up on TV because she was talking to a rather attractive guy on the street. The media would love the story to rile up more drama, and Harry would be peeved above anything. She knew he could be overbearing at times, and even though she believed he wasn’t too overprotective she wouldn’t want to make him upset, especially when things were going good so far.

                Before she knew it, both she and Happy were finally in front of the store. “Alright stay right here,” she told Happy as she tied his leash carefully around a young tree in front of the store. No matter who she was, she couldn’t just bring him into the clothing store. He was extremely friendly, and she knew not all people wanted to pet a dog while they were shopping. She didn’t have time either to both shop and hold him at the same time.

                “Hello!” the two women working at the store greeted her as she walked in. She nodded a greeting and smiled while she headed straight towards the men’s section. It didn’t take her long to find the jean category, the smile returning to her face when she thought about the very first time she and Harry went shopping together. For a moment she missed him being there with her, but the pushed the thoughts aside as she looked at the pants in front of her.

                _He’s always wearing those same black ones. Even if those are his favorite pair, it’ll be nice to switch them up a bit._ She couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she went through the racks just thinking about how much he loved those jeans. She took her time looking through each pair, not finding anything she really liked or thought would look good on him as she got further down the line. Some were too blue… some were too grey… some just weren’t his style at all. _Damn it… what if I can’t find anything he likes? Then what? I guess he could use a new jacket…_

                Just as she was thinking about her new plan of action, a female voice cut through her thoughts. “Shopping for your husband?”

                Grace turned to find one of the workers standing behind her, a smile on her face. _These people working at these expensive stores sure are good on customer service…_ “Oh uh no… It's for my boyfriend.” She smiled back, turning away from the racks to look at the woman.

                “Do you know his measurements? We could show you some of our most popular pieces in his size!” She bobbed her head ever so often, making her brunette ponytail bounce at the end of each sentence. _She really is excited about this job…_

                _Oh crap…_ She cringed on the inside when she realized she didn’t know what on earth Harry’s size was. She could remember his waist size from the jeans he bought last time but the height? She had no idea!

                “Well I know the waist measurements…” she trailed off, letting out a sigh finally as the woman watched her curiously. _What should I do?_ She couldn’t just text Harry asking him for the information, then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. Should she just guess or ask one of his bandmates?

                “Hold on, let me get them from someone. It’s a surprise, so I can’t ask him directly,” she told the woman as she pulled her phone out of her pocket to text Liam. She hadn’t talked to the man since they were in London together, and she was hoping he would be awake and near his phone. If not, she would have to try maybe Zayn since he always seemed to answer quickly when she sent him something.

                **_Hey Liam do you know Harry’s pants size?_**

“Is it a birthday present for him?” The worker asked her as she looked up from her phone.

                Grace shook her head no. “Nah I just wanted to do something nice for him today. He’s always such a sweetheart so I wanted to pick something up for him.” _I can’t believe I’m talking about him like this… if this was just a few months ago I’d never talk about him like this._

                “That’s so sweet of you!” She smiled even more as if reflecting on something of her own. “It must be so nice to have a boyfriend like that. I wish my fiancé would get me things, all he gets are those flowers that die the next day for me sometimes. But anyway…” she stopped herself from rambling, going to play with her fingers in a nervous gesture. “What’s your boyfriend’s waist size? At least I can grab a few jeans to show you and we can go from there.”

                Grace told her the size just before her phone began to vibrate in her hand, signaling Liam had probably texted her back. When the woman left to go to the back room of the store, she looked back down at her phone again to read the new message from the older man.

                **_What a weird question… Why do you need that all of a sudden?_**

**_I’m getting him something nice. Just… do you know it? I have the waist I just need length._ **

**_Shouldn’t you already know his length? :) ;)_ **

                She blushed at his response, looking around to make sure no one had noticed her flushed face. _Just what is he trying to do? He’s almost as bad as Zayn! **Liam!!! >:|**_

                **_I’m joking, I’m joking._** She could imagine him laughing before he sent his next text. **_Well we’re almost the same height but he’s taller… You should go maybe four inches above mine maybe? Or six… Harry’s got some long ass legs_**

**_Yeah right… I’ll deal with you later but thanks!_** She let out a breath as she read the numbers Liam had given her, hoping these would fit as she tried to push Liam’s crude joke out of her mind. Harry could always return them but she wanted things to be perfect. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if she got the sizing wrong and they had to bring them right back.

                “These are our most popular jeans for this upcoming summer!” The woman returned quickly with two pairs of grey jeans on one arm, and a medium blue, a black and darker grey colored jeans on the other. “Did you figure out the length?”

                “I did actually.” Grace smiled at the black jeans, knowing Harry would love them but she needed to get something different than he already had. After she put her phone away in her pocket, she took the darker grey jeans from the woman, holding them up in the light of the store for a better look. She turned the jeans over to look at the back, then turned them back around to look at the front again, instantly knowing that Harry would love these. He preferred his jeans to be a tighter fit, and these were made out of almost the same material as his favorite pair. “Do you have these with a longer leg?” she asked the woman, folding the jeans back up and handing them back to her. “He’d just love these.”

                “I’ll check and see, but I’m pretty positive we do.” The woman left once again and yet again Grace's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, biting her lip when she saw it was from Harry.

                **_Where’d you go out to all of a sudden?_**

**_I just wanted to get out for a bit. That’s all._** She sent back, hoping he wouldn’t ask her too much about it. His response was nearly immediate.

                **_Hmm… Well I missed seeing you this morning. You know I hate it when I can’t see you first thing in the morning._**

_Typical Harry…_ She smiled at the worker when she returned with her requested size for Harry’s jeans. She checked them over again before she headed over to the register to pay for them. She tried not to think about how they cost $700, but rather on how happy Harry would be. Besides, she could earn the money back later when she got a new job.

                _A new job…_ She swiped her credit card in the machine, waiting for the command to pop up for her to sign her signature. Ever since she had quit _Sun_ she hadn’t really been thinking about a job with how crazy things were with Harry. Somehow, things with her careers always got messed up when Harry entered her life. She was sure he wouldn’t walk out of her life again, but she still needed to find a steady source of income. Harry made loads of money, but she didn’t want to rely on his money only. Her mother had always taught her she needed to have her own money, no matter what.

“Thank you for your purchase! Come again!” The worker cheerfully said as she handed the bag of jeans to her once the transaction was complete. She nodded in response, saying thank you in return before she headed out the door and straight to Happy who was lying patiently on the sidewalk, several kids just finishing up playing with him. The older dog seemed to be ready to go home as he slowly stood to his paws, eyeing her new bag curiously.

                “You just got a present. I’ll get you something next time.” She patted him on the head as she leaned over a bit to untie his leash. Just as she looked up to head back up the street, she was met with a familiar face but yet a sentence she didn’t want to hear.

                “You’re Grace Evergreen, aren’t you?”

                She stared at the young man for a moment, taking in his face before deciding on if she wanted to ignore this or tell him yes… He looked so strikingly familiar... just like her old boyfriend, Jake.

                _Yeah but remember why you dumped that creep?_ Before she could walk away and ignore him, he kept talking.

                “You remember me don’t you? Jake Merriweather. We dated back in high school, remember?”

                She nodded, not really wanting to have this conversation. She glanced around briefly, making sure no one was taking pictures or noticed her. “Somewhat yeah…”

                “Nice running into you out here. I haven’t heard from you in ages but I’ve seen you all over the news… with that Harry Styles guy.” Jake quirked his eyebrows slightly, chewing his gum way too loud for her liking.

                _It’s anything but nice to meet you out here_ , she wanted to say so bad but held her tongue. She had dumped Jake two months into their relationship, knowing it would never work out in a million years with how creepy he was. At first, things were fine, he acted like a normal guy until several weeks rolled by and he started talking about how much he loved her and wanted to get married. He moved too quickly too fast, and on top of that he would text her nonstop and send her weird pictures. He was hot, he could almost go as Dylan O’ Brien’s relative, but he turned into a nightmare quickly.

                “Oh have you?” She tried to sound uninterested, hoping he’d take the hint and leave, but he kept talking.

                “Yeah. Grace come on, what are you doing with a guy like him?”

                “What do you mean by that?” She narrowed her eyes at him, instantly wanting to leave. After all these years he couldn’t possibly be jealous she was dating someone else.

                “I mean come on. You and a player? That doesn’t go together. I know you better than that.”

                “Harry’s _not_ a player. And it’s none of your business on who I’m with.”

                “Woah chill out!” He held his hands up in mock surrender, going for an annoying laugh that grated against her ears.

                “No you chill out. That’s so disrespectful for you to walk up like this out of nowhere and talk crap on my boyfriend.”

                “It was just a joke.” He frowned at her. “Sorry, didn’t know you were in love with the guy.”

                “Whatever Jake. You haven’t changed at all,” she muttered under her breath as she started to walk Happy away. _Just as immature and annoying still as ever… Why on earth did I ever date him?_

                “Yeah! See you later too!” He yelled after her, making her want to turn around and slap him.

                _What is he doing out here anyway? We both went to school back in Manhattan, how on earth is he here? And out of all odds how did we bump into each other?_ She let out a frustrated sigh as she headed back to her SUV, trying to think instead about Harry. _If only he was here, he’d set that loser straighter than I could._

                “Grace Evergreen!”

                _Oh my God what now?_ She looked up to find a balding man taking a picture of her with his phone before she could even say anything, making her frown. She commanded Happy to follow after her, trying to ignore this man as they continued their walk to her SUV.

                “You’re the one that is dating Harry right now, right? The one everyone’s been talking about on how he cheated on you? Why’d you take him back?”

                She continued to ignore the man, just hoping he’d give up. She wouldn’t answer any questions on Harry or their relationship to give these people any satisfaction. No matter what she said, they’d turn it into something weird anyway. Then again, this was strange. Why was this man alone? Usually the paps came in packs, like hungry hyenas, snickering and throwing insults or unnecessary questions her way.

“Harry must be some sort of nice guy, huh?”

                “He is a nice guy. He’s a great guy.” She glanced over at him briefly, finding he was still recording her with his phone. _Can’t he just leave… What does he want?_

                “Is there a reason why you only say nice things about him in public? Is he paying you to do it? You’re pretty too, you deserve more than him, right? All his other exes have said he’s nothing but trouble. Why are you different?”

                “Because _I'm_ telling the truth.” She stopped for a moment, not bothering to look in his camera at all but him instead. “No one has to pay me to tell the truth about how things are. Harry’s a great guy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now please, let me finish shopping.” She turned away from him, Happy obediently following her once again.

                _I bet that’s going to air on TV_. She let out a sigh when the man finally stopped following her just as she got to her car. She put Harry’s jeans in the backseat as she allowed Happy to get in the passenger side, closing both of the doors before heading over to her side. As soon as she got in, she locked the doors and let out a huge sigh as she threw her head back on the head rest. _What a day…_

                “How does Harry even do this all? He gets harassed more than I do.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket, just remembering to text him back.

                **_I’ll be back soon and I missed you too._**

Grace left the part out about running into Jake and the lone man, not wanting him to worry at all. She placed her phone down into the drink holder, put her seat belt on and prepared to put her car into drive but something caught her eye before she could pull off.

                On a billboard just above the buildings there was a picture of none other than her and the other four members of One Direction from the photoshoot they took with Director Charles two months ago. As she leaned on the steering wheel for a better view, she had to admit they all looked really good together. The boys had always looked good in formal wear, but she had to admit she looked good as well.

                “True friendship never fades…” she read the caption underneath the picture out loud, making Happy look at her. She smiled a bit, noticing how not everyone was looking in the same direction. She was the only one looking forward while Niall was smiling at Liam and Liam was smiling back at him. Louis was smiling softly at Harry while Harry had his eyes focused on her. She knew this wasn’t the _official_ picture, as Director Charles had called it when they were all looking into the camera, no, this was one where they were all goofing off behind her but it somehow had turned out nice. They all looked relaxed and at ease with each other, perfect for the caption right underneath them.

                “Never fades huh…” She put her car into drive, checking her rearview mirrors before she pulled out into traffic to drive home.

                _Home…_ She caught herself on the word, glancing up one last time at the billboard as she drove by. In the past year, Harry’s condo had become that home she always had wanted to return to, next to her parent’s of course.

                _Home… I can get used to that._ She smiled to herself as she turned the radio on, flicking through the channels to find a good station as she kept her eyes on the road. Maybe it would be ok to live with Harry for a bit longer?

* * *

 

                “Hey welcome back,” Harry greeted her as soon as she walked in the front door. He was still wearing what he had been sleeping in, a pair of his boxers and a white tank as he lounged lazily on the sofa.

                “Hey!” She closed the door behind her, easily going to unclip Happy’s leash from his collar. She hung it up on a hook by one of Harry’s jackets, watching as he walked straight to his water bowl.

                “What’s in the bag?” Harry was quick to notice she had returned with a bright and shiny shopping bag possibly holding something he’d like. “You went shopping without me,” he pouted a bit as she came around the front of the sofa to sit by him.

                “For a good cause! That’s why I couldn’t tell you where I went.” She tried not to look at his bare thighs as she handed the bag to him. Ever since they started dating he had become a bit more lax, and she already knew the man had no shame in his body or appearance. _Just please don’t let him end up walking around the house naked just yet. I think I’d just die from sheer embarrassment and shock._ “Open it,” she continued, trying to not think about a naked Harry wandering through their shared condo.

                “This is for me,” he asked questionably, still not believing she had went out to get him something. She nodded and he cautiously opened the bag, his small smile turning into a big one when he pulled out the pair of jeans. “So this is why you ran out so early this morning without me…”

                “Do you like them?”

                “I don’t like them,” he replied seriously before giving her a huge smile. “I _love_ them.” He held the jeans up to look at them in the light, turning them over to look at the back side as well. “How did you know my size? These are spot on.”

                “I had a bit of help.” She watched as he placed them down on the table, running his fingers over the fabric before he turned to face her.

                “Thank you so much Gracie.” He leaned over for a side hug, not forgetting to give her cheek a quick kiss. “Now you can stop whining about me wearing the same black jeans.”

                “That’s not why I got them!” She turned away from him to hide her blush. He was right in a way though, that was part of the reason she bought them, but at the same time she did want to just surprise him. “I just wanted to do something nice for you before tour started again. That’s all.”

                “Tour…” He looked distant for a moment before his eyes met hers. “That’s not far off again, is it?”

                She shrugged, watching him closely. She had begun to notice he always got tense when she mentioned the tour, making her wonder if he really wanted to get back on the road again. “You don’t want to go back, do you?” she asked, picking up on his distress easily.

                “No it’s not that. You know I love what I do.” He ran his hands over the fabric of his new jeans again, deciding to break eye contact before he launched into his next sentence. “I just want more time, you know?”

                “Well take that time off then. No one’s forcing you to go back just yet. You guys have been touring and releasing albums nonstop, I can understand why you’d want a break.”

                When Harry didn’t say anything for a while she wondered if she had said something wrong but he simply shook his head, meeting her eyes again as he slowly said, “You know, you’re the first person to tell me that.”

                “It’s obvious though.” She pulled her shoes off, placing them behind the arm of the sofa by its leg. “Is this what’s got you so worried?”

                “Kinda… yeah,” he admitted, looking a bit guilty. “I don’t know the other guys just _really_ want to go after it. Our fans have been yelling at us nonstop to start performing again, but then again they never released an official statement on how I’m doing, so no one knows besides the few pictures they get of me or us in public.”

                _So this is everything he’s been worried about…_ “You know what’s more important though?” She poked his shoulder to get his attention before continuing. “You. Remember you have to take care of yourself first Harry before anyone else or there is no One Direction and no tour. I’m not having another repeat of last time… _We’re_ not having another repeat of that.”

                “You’re right…” he said quietly after a while, looking down briefly before he looked back up at her again. “What do I do then?”

                “Tell the other guys what’s on your mind. They’ll understand, won’t they? You guys have been friends for ages.” She leaned back into a more comfortable position on the sofa, drowning out the background noise of the TV.

                “It’s not that simple,” he laughed weakly, breathing out of his mouth. Harry then leaned over towards her, resting his head on her shoulder. His soft, curly hair tickled her neck, and right then and there she wanted more than anything to just run her fingers through his hair.

                “You know, I’m always here for you Harry,” she said softly, tilting her head into his as well.

                “I know… And I’m thankful that you are. I really am.” He let out a sigh before continuing. “I just don’t think there’s much you can help me with in this situation. This is where our differences hurt us.”

                “Well… if it makes it better maybe I can go on some tour dates with you,” she offered, knowing he’d probably decline, but at least she had tried. “Liam brings Sophia sometimes… and Louis used to bring Eleanor. Maybe it’ll make you feel better if I’m there?”

                He was quiet for a moment, seeming to think everything through before he scooted away a bit to look up at her. “I actually think that might work.” His pink lips curled into a small smile. “You’re a genius Gracie!”

                “You’re welcome Harry,” she laughed, not expecting him to kiss her out of nowhere all of a sudden. It was a quick, teasing kiss, but it was enough to have her staring wide eyed at him as he laughed at her reaction.

                “You’re something else…” he laughed under his breath. “Something else…”

                She watched him smile quietly to himself as he looked back over at his jeans again. _So that’s part of what was bugging him…_ She couldn’t help but smile herself. Even though she didn’t know the full story, she was glad she could help in any way possible. Besides Harry being her boyfriend, he was one of the best friends she ever had and she’d do everything in her power to help him out and make him feel better.

                _But just how soon are they all hitting the road again?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! I know there's been a bit of wait this past semester with chapters coming out, but thank you all again for being so patient and understanding through all of it. Your support has been amazing and I can't thank you all enough for how you've responded to this series. It _really_ means a lot to me. In return I always hope this story brings a bit more joy to your day and always puts a smile on your face, especially as we approach the holiday season. As always, thanks for stopping in to give this a read and I'll see you all next update!


	24. Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry for the long gap between this update and the last, but nonetheless here's the next update. Here's a little treat from me to you for Valentines Day! This time some mysteries between our two favorites will get solved. Happy reading!

                Harry was much more chipper after Grace announced she’d go on tour with him for a little while. She had liked the idea as well, not wanting to be alone in her apartment while Harry was out in whatever part of the world he was in. Even though the fight with Chester was a little over a week ago, she was still shaken up by it. Not to mention even bumping into Jake worried her. Just why on earth was he in LA, and out of all places why was he just outside of the store she was in? It was almost like he had been waiting on her.

                _It couldn’t be that though. I'm just over thinking things. Jake wouldn’t know where to find me, would he?_

                “Europe is the next leg of our tour, _again_. After my accident we decided it would be best just to push all the remaining dates back,” Harry said excitedly through her thoughts as they sat together in the grass at the park with Happy surprisingly lying right by Harry’s thigh. “We’re hitting all the small places before we come back to Paris and London once again for a finale. Maybe you and I can go to the Eiffel Tower!”

                She nodded in agreement, loving how excited he was. “Sounds fun! I’ve never been out of the country.” _Well if you don’t count the time I had to come visit you in England, I haven’t._

                “Never?” Harry’s eyes widened in shock. “Well I’m about to take care of that. You’ll have the best tour guide ever!”

                “I can’t wait.” She smiled at him while placing her hand on his upper thigh before she even knew what she was doing. She would have moved away, but with the way he gave her such a small, yet suggestive smile she wouldn’t and didn’t. _This is so different from last year it’s crazy. I’d never be touching him like this and he probably wouldn’t let me back then either…_ “But make sure you catch up on your rest and everything before you say you’re ready to head back.”

                “I know that Gracie,” he sassed, putting his hand over hers. “But with you there with me, what could possibly go wrong? Besides... Maybe you getting pregnant.”

                “Harry what?” Her voice rose several octaves, making him laugh harder. _What is he talking about!?_

                “It was just a joke but...” He lowered his voice, leaning over to whisper in her ear, “It gets lonely on tour, even with the guys there. And I know you don’t want to hang out with them all the time, maybe you and I could... you know... slip away sometime,” he suggested, squeezing her hand slightly.

                “Harry I...” she started, automatically becoming flustered. _Is he just flat out asking me for sex!?_

                Suddenly a huge smile appeared on his face as he pulled away from her, laughing as if he had just told the best joke in the world. “Your reactions are priceless. I’m just teasing, but you know Paris is the city of love.” He watched her curiously, almost giving her the same look he had given her when they met again for the first time in the photoshoot. “You know how to French kiss?”

                “Harry!” She fanned him away when he tried to lean in closer, earning more giggles from him. _This man is crazy..._

                “You’re so shy when we do things like this.” His laughter eased up as time went on, but a smile seemed to be permanently stuck on his face. “It’s really cute.”

                _I thought he was going to ask me if it was my first time doing something else._ She let out a sigh of relief that had Harry raising his eyebrows at her. She never told him he was her first and last kiss despite having a boyfriend before him, and she was partially glad she never mentioned it to him. For one, it was none of his business and two, she didn’t need him puffing his chest out in pride any more than he already was.

                “Thanks I guess?” She had to admit though, his boldness and confidence in the relationship always saved the day. Harry always knew what to do, making her thankful yet again she ended up with someone like him.

                “You’re welcome.” He leaned in closer again, this time his lips barely inches from hers. “You know what’s also cute?” He blinked at her, his cool green eyes catching the blinding rays of the sun behind her. “It’s really cute when you kiss me back the way you do, how you completely follow my lead. I never dated anyone like you.” He then closed the gap between them, kissing her in public for the first time since last summer. The only difference this time was he actually meant it.

                “That’s a good thing right?” she asked when they broke away from the quick kiss that sent tingles all over her body. This time, she didn’t even care if anyone saw them. They could take all the pictures they wanted, and say all they wanted to say, but all she cared about in this moment right now was how Harry was looking into her eyes.

                “Hell yeah.” His voice seemed to drop as he stared into her eyes. “We’ve got a long future in front of us Gracie. I know that for sure.” He looked down momentarily at her hand before he squeezed it gently with his larger one.

                “So…” she started, making him raise his eyebrows at her. “We never did finish our conversation back when you were in bed those weeks ago and Mom called. You never told me when you started to like me,” she quietly said, studying his face at this close of an angle. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, a small beard and mustache slowly starting to form. She was used to his face mostly being shaven, but she didn’t mind this at all. It was quite handsome actually…

                “Oh that...” He blushed a little, laughing quietly. “Well I always thought you were cute... But maybe when I kissed you that first time?”

                “No way!” _What, he kissed me only a month into knowing each other? I was a complete stranger to him! How is that even possible?_

                “Yes way!” His eyes twinkled in the afternoon sun. “Come on Gracie. I wouldn’t kiss you if I didn’t mean it. That’s just plain weird to just kiss people you don’t like.”

                _If Harry Styles said it’s weird it must be really weird… and Zayn was right all along. I really owe it to him._ She made a mental note to text Zayn when she got back home later or tomorrow, but right now she needed to get more of the truth out of Harry and that included the most burning question she had of last summer. “So why did you lie to me that next day?”

                He bit his lip, giving her a slightly guilty look before he shrugged and went to scratch behind his ear. Grace knew him well enough now to know that that meant he was nervous about something. “Same reason I told you before baby. Even celebrities get nervous and scared sometimes. We’re only human and you know rejection is a man’s biggest fear.”

                She nodded at him, whistling slightly to herself at his answer as they fell into silence. _So Harry Styles out of all people was insecure about asking me out and telling me he liked me? Wow..._ Not wanting to embarrass him anymore she quietly asked, “What do... What do you think would’ve happened if we never bumped into each other again at that photoshoot?”

                “Sadly I wouldn’t be sitting out here with this beautiful girl and you wouldn’t be out here with this handsome man.” He gave her a small, almost shy smile when he looked back up at her. “I’m glad we saw each other again Gracie. I _really_ am. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

                “Yeah... Same.” She nodded in agreement, nearly getting lost in his green eyes.

                They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Harry said just barely above a whisper, “Kiss me.” He paused in his speech, his eyes seductively going from hers, down to her lips, then back up again at her eyes. “I like how you kiss me first, how warm you are... How you touch me sometimes.”

                She looked at him for a moment longer before obeying, instantly going to grip his hand again. Harry had always dominated her before due to him being more experienced, but this time he seemed to let her take over, this time letting her take his breath away.

                Every time she kissed Harry she felt like they were in a different place and time, and this was no different as she left his hand to intertwine her fingers in his long, curly brown hair. They stopped for air a few times before she brought his lips back to hers again in a series of kisses. He was warm and soft as always, but this time she could taste the mint on his lips from the gum he was chewing earlier, letting herself completely get wrapped up in giving Harry and herself everything they wanted in this moment. She didn’t want to be too rough on him, but if this communicated anything she knew she was making up for those six long months they hadn’t bothered to contact one another. Those six cold months they could have been together, talking about whatever came to mind and laughing about how they never thought they’d end up together...

                Just as her thoughts began to wander, she felt his hand on her thigh briefly. She didn’t jump at his touch like she used to, but this time she felt him starting to climb higher than usual, his hand going up to her hip and then further back to squeeze her ass as he pulled her bottom lip between his teeth gently. They had made out before back on the beach, and that night they finally started dating so this was nothing new, but she knew they should be doing this at home, not in the middle of a public park.

                “Hey,” she muttered through another kiss, letting him know she wanted him to stop.

                “Sorry,” he breathed when she pulled away, instantly moving his hand away. Harry was always good at stopping when she wanted him to, never going further than she wanted him to in situations like these.

                She felt guilty for a moment when she saw his apologetic face. She knew he was thinking she had stopped him because he was going too far, but it was just the complete opposite. At this rate, they needed to stop before they ended up on top of each other in the middle of the park. “It’s just I’m not big on PDA so don’t apologize… I... liked it.”

                “Who knew I’d get those words out of you,” he laughed, biting his bottom lip as his eyes glanced back down at hers again. “But then again… you’ve changed a lot since last time baby.”

                “And so have you.” She looked down at his lips too, wanting more than anything to have his lips back on hers again. _Control yourself Grace... Wait until you get home..._

                “For the better I’m hoping?” He laughed again, pushing some of his hair away from his face.

                “Well… you are less overbearing… but you’re still bossy.” She smiled at him as he widened his eyes in mock shock and hurt.

                “You’re no better,” he quipped, leaning back on his arms while his eyes never left hers. “You still yell at me sometimes about laundry and get into these weird emotional fits, but at least you kiss me like you mean it now.”

                “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?” She frowned at him, making him laugh harder.

                “Please. Don’t act like you didn’t kiss me back all weakly last summer. Every time I kissed you I was doing all the work… until that little beach scene.” He looked away from her, this mischievous glint in his eye. “ _That_ was something else. I was sure we were going to fuck each other right then and there. Never had beach sex before actually…”

                “Harry!” she shouted at him. She was so glad no one was walking by or she might just melt out of embarrassment.

                “It’s true!” He looked down at the grass, this time allowing her to catch his side profile in the afternoon light. She watched as his soft hair fell against his cheeks, looking softer and fluffier than ever as the longest part draped over the opposite side of his face. _He’s so beautiful…_ “That’s why I was so fucking confused when you said you were acting the next day. Like if _that_ doesn’t say you like anyone, I don’t know what does.”

                “Imagine how I felt when you did the same to me that night in your car.” She tried to shake herself out of checking him out but then stopped herself. _Why am I worried about him catching me?_ Harry never cared anyway about catching her before, so why worry now?

                He stopped laughing then, letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry about that Gracie… I really am…”

                “Don’t even worry about it Harry… I’m sorry as well. We both messed up.” She gave him a slight smile that he returned.

                “And it’s fixed now.” He glanced over at Happy momentarily who couldn’t be bothered with anything the two of them were doing. Grace looked over at him as well, noticing the dog had moved away a bit. He was probably disgusted that his owner was kissing the man that refused to give him no more than a certain amount of Milkbones a day.

                They fell into another moment of silence as a gentle breeze began to blow throughout the area they were in, giving Grace a slight chill. Even though she did hate the heat, she couldn’t wait for it to at least get a little warmer.

                “Well... I look forward to this trip to Paris.” Harry winked at her before lying down on his back with a grunt, making Happy sit up straight in annoyance. “You and I are going to have so much fun.”

                She smiled down at him, pushing his long hair out of his face before she leaned over him to kiss his forehead right where his scar ended. It had ended up healing up nicely in the end, leaving just a thin white line right below his hairline that could only be seen if someone really studied his face. “Just don’t get too wild on me Harry.”

                “I won’t,” he promised, staring up into her eyes. “I won’t do anything until you’re ready. Until we’re both ready.”

                _This really was the right choice to come back to him..._ She gave him another smile before resting her head on his chest as she laid down next to him. “I love you... ” she said so low even she couldn’t hear herself into his chest. She felt his chest rise and fall as he breathed, and listened to his steady heartbeat as she continued to lay there. She meant it that she was in love with him, from the bottom of her heart, yet she still wasn’t quite ready to make the big confession to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I want to thank you all for reading this story, and I'd also like to thank you for being patient when it comes to updates. I really do apologize that they don't come out as fast as they used to, but I hope you all understand. I'm in no way abandoning this story, I love it way too much to do that and I know some of you are big fans of it as well. I wish I could've told you all sooner I'd be taking a little "break" from posting this story, but AO3 has no options to make a huge message post and I didn't want to post a new chapter that would maybe trick you all into thinking I had new content. So things may be a little on the slow side, but just know I'm not dropping this story off or anything. As usual, I'll see you all next update! Next chapter is totally going to spice it up a bit between our two favorites so get ready :)


	25. I Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I hope you all are having a lovely Friday and to add on to your day, here is the next update! This one is a bit of a long one, and a bit of an emotional one as well. It's not a tear jerker, but you'll be smiling by the end of the chapter. Happy reading to you all!

                Preparations for heading out on tour again occurred faster than Grace wanted them to. Harry had called up his management company and his other bandmates just two weeks ago, yet everything seemed to be pushed into high gear with getting this leg of the tour up and running again. She knew before even meeting him that Harry’s life was a fast one, but not _this_ fast.

                _And my birthday is coming up soon. At this rate I won’t have time to do anything._ Grace let out a sigh as she looked through her planner while sitting crisscross on her bed. She hadn’t left her room very much today besides to have breakfast earlier in the morning with Harry and to give Happy a bath, in which Harry blatantly refused to help her with. She had just been too busy with thinking about all the items she needed to bring on tour with Harry, and other business she needed to take care of right now in LA before they left.

                _Even my parents don’t know I’ll be gone._ She sighed again, glancing down to the end of the month on her calendar. She’d have to tell them sooner or later since they were a close family and kept in contact often, but she could only imagine how irritated her dad would be that she was traveling around with Harry.

                _What does that matter now though? I’m a grown woman and have been living on my own now without either of my parents’ say since I graduated high school._ Not wanting to think about it any longer, she pushed the thoughts aside and busied herself with circling a familiar date with a smile on her face. _May 28 th…_ The day she bumped into Harry outside her old workplace; a date she would never ever forget for as long as she lived.

                “It’s like our little anniversary…” she said quietly to herself, wondering if Harry remembered the date as well. Despite that day being very special to her, it was just another fan encounter for him. _But it has to be special to him as well considering what we are now…_

                “Knock, knock!” Harry’s voice suddenly came from outside her door, knocking her out of her thoughts. He tapped his knuckles gently on the wood of the door, not daring to enter before she gave him the ok.

                “Yeah… you can come in,” she said softly, glancing around her room to make sure nothing was out that he didn’t need to see. She kept her room pretty clean, not daring to leave out very private items in case he did barge in for an _emergency_ to grab one of her hairbands because he lost an entire pack of his, or to simply come in and spend some time with her. He was great on asking before entering most of the time, but there had been more than one occasion that Grace wish she could wipe from both of their memories where he saw things he didn’t need to.

                “You sure are quiet today.” He pushed the door open slowly to reveal his slender frame. He was wearing a pair of his basketball shorts and a simple white t-shirt today, his hair looking softer and fluffier after his morning shower. He gave her warm smile that just barely pulled the corner of his lips up. Despite that smile though, she knew he was concerned. Even though he knew she did enjoy her private time, it wasn’t like her to sit in her room for the majority of the day and he knew something was up. “Everything alright?”

                Grace nodded, returning his smile. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

                “ _Fine_ ,” he repeated her words in a lower tone as he made his way to sit beside her on the bed. Grace already knew where this was going before the next words were even out of his mouth. “If I’ve known you long enough Gracie, I know that _fine_ , means _not good_ or it means you want me to disappear off the face of the earth.”

                _Here he goes again._ “The last one isn’t true!” She pushed his shoulder playfully as he sat down beside her, making the bed dip in from his weight. _Last time we were in this bed together we woke up by each other._ Those memories were still vivid in her mind, even fresher than the ones where she had recently slept in the same bed as Harry.

                “You wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t here,” he teased, rubbing his shoulder as if she had hurt him.

                She rolled her eyes at him, choosing not to give him a witty comeback this time. At this rate he’d possibly trap her into one of his perverted jokes and she wasn’t particularly in the mood for it today.

                They fell into silence, but Harry quickly filled it as he cleared his throat. “Anyway, what’s the matter babe?” He glanced down at her open agenda, narrowing his eyes a bit at her small handwriting on each date as he tried to read it.

                “It’s just… It’s just the tour,” she said honestly, not meeting his eyes as she looked at her agenda as well. “And I know what you think Harry. It’s not about being with you. I’m fine with you and the other guys, it’s just… everything’s happening so fast. It feels like we just got back to LA yesterday… now we’re heading back out again.”

                “Welcome to my world.” He laughed a bit before giving her a sympathetic look. “Look… Gracie I won’t lie to you, it’ll be a lot to adjust to but we don’t leave until next week, so you have plenty of time to get ready, and to call your friends and…parents.”

                The way he paused at parents made her look up at him. _Oh no… I wonder if he thinks my parents hate him or how they’re going to be upset I’m going out of the country with him? I did tell him that I had cleared his name with them, but nothing else!_ “They’ll be fine with it Harry.”

                “You sure?”

                She nodded, a little surprised he was doubting her. “It’s not like I’m a little girl anymore. They know I’m dating you, they understand it’s not like dating a _regular_ guy, and…” She took a deep breath, finally meeting his eyes. “They trust me on everything… with being with you and doing things with you. So we’ll be fine on this one.”

                He was quiet for a moment as if he was taking it all in before nodding. “Alright…” was all he simply said in a quiet voice before looking back over at her agenda again. “What’s this?” he asked in a more excited tone, pointing at the sticker of a birthday cake. “Gracie…” He looked up at her and she knew she was in trouble.

                “It’s-” she started but Harry had already worked himself up and cut her off.

                “You have a birthday coming up and you didn’t tell me!? Why didn’t you tell me?”

                “Because… It’s just a birthday. It’s not _that_ special.”

                “What do you mean, not _that_ special?” He raised his eyebrows at her before turning himself around and lying down across her bed on his stomach. “ _I_ think it’s special, isn’t that enough?”

                “Well yeah…” She fiddled with the ends of her hair as Harry smiled happily at her. “It’s just I don’t want you to do anything too fancy or spend all this money-”

                “Nonsense!” He waved his hand at her, going back to look at her calendar again. “Everyone deserves nice things on their birthdays, and my Gracie is no exception.”

                “Yeah but you’ll just be starting your tour and-”

                “You think I wouldn’t have time for you?” He turned to face her again, frowning just a bit. “Come on now Gracie. You’ve seen me pull off things for you before. Why on earth would I pass up _your_ birthday because we’re on tour? That makes no sense… Is that why you were sitting in here pouting all day?”

                “I wasn’t pouting!” She looked away from him and let out a sigh. In a sense, he was right though. She wasn’t big on birthday parties and all the fancy, shiny gifts, but spending time with her family and Harry was something she was wanting to do this year. Being with her family was out of the question since she and Harry would be over in Europe but she got to thinking, what if Harry had a concert on her birthday? How on earth would he have enough time to spend time with her, put on a show, and travel to another city? It was just impossible to fit it all in one day.

                “Yeah… you were.” He gave her a smile before sitting up beside her again. “Don’t ever think I don’t have time for you though sweetheart.” He gave her a brief side hug before pulling her closer into his side. He smelled like his shampoo and shower gel, making her want to sit right here forever as he talked on. “You got that?”

                She nodded before he placed a light kiss on her temple. “So what do you have in mind?”

                “Now _that’s_ a secret Gracie,” he laughed, causing his eyes to close.

                “Harry that’s not fair!”

                “It _is_ fair!” He laughed even harder at her face as she frowned at him. “Just… let me handle it ok? It’s not fun if I tell you what we’re going to do on your birthday. Is it?”

                _You told me what you were going to do on yours,_ she almost said but held her tongue. Last thing she needed was for Harry to figure out she skipped out on his birthday party because of how she was feeling about him earlier this year. That was information she needed to keep with herself.

                “Don’t give me that face. It’ll be fun. Trust me.” Harry winked at her before looking back down at her agenda, studying the other little notes written here and there as well. “What’s… this?” He asked, pointing to the last thing she wanted him to point at. “You have plans at the end of this week without me?”

                _Oh God no._ She held in her breath as he pointed at the small red sticker at the end of this week. _It’s exactly the complete opposite of that Harry. I’m making_ no _plans because I’m not going to be feeling well._

“It’s uhm…” she muttered, hoping just maybe he’d figure it out on his own. _He has a sister and his mom so…?_

                “Oh… Oh! Sorry.” He made an awkward face as if figuring out what it was for himself before quickly moving on to the date she had circled at the end of the month, the day that they met. “We don’t have a concert this day. What’s this for?”

                Her heart could have sunk at those words as he rubbed his chin, studying the date for a little while before handing the planner back to her. _He doesn’t remember the first day we met, but of course he wouldn’t though Grace. It was just a normal day to him until the next day all the fake news started to come out on us._

“Which reminds me,” he continued before she could answer his question, oblivious to the fact he had missed out on something so special. “I have a schedule with all the concert dates and times as well as all our airport stuff I wanted to give you. You don’t have to go to every concert with me, only if you want, but… you know this is a lot right now. We can just talk it over on the flight to our first location if you want.”

                She nodded, trying not to let it show how disappointed she was. “That’ll work. So we can have something to do. It’s a private jet too, right?”

                “Yep!” He smiled happily at her. “So don’t worry about paps or anyone bothering us. It’ll just be me, you and some body guards. The other lads have their own planes.”

                “Sounds nice…” She returned the smile, but as usual Harry saw right through her.

                “Hey, what’s wrong now?”

                “Nothing! I was just thinking about how I have to call my parents later…”

                “Oh that…” Harry sighed, scratching behind his ear. “It’ll be fine though. Just… let me know if you need anything. Are you gonna call them now? We still do have a bit of time before we head out.”

                “Yeah I might as well. You know, they’ll probably want to see me before I head out.” She shook her head, thinking about how her dad would react. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

                He nodded, looking her over as if he wanted to say more but changed his mind. “Well… I’ll see you later?”

                “Yeah, of course Harry,” she promised, knowing that was his signature way of saying he missed her company all day. Surprisingly, he wasn’t as clingy as she thought he’d be when they first got together, but Harry still did enjoy her often even if it was just sitting on the sofa together saying nothing as she read a good book while he texted one of his buddies. He was never overbearing either. Sometimes he’d head out on his own for a little bit and she’d do the same. She came to learn that he understood and respected the fact she needed a bit more alone time and privacy than he did.

                _We did turn out to be a pretty good couple._ She smiled at him as he leaned in for another kiss before exiting her room, careful not to trip over Happy as he slightly closed the door behind him on the way out.

                _Thing is… he doesn’t even remember the very first day we met._ She let out a quiet sigh, as she put her planner on the bedside table, trying to mentally prepare herself for a phone call with her parents. _Should both Harry and I do a video call? I have a feeling if it’s just me they’ll want me to drive all the way out to their house again..._

“Hey Harry,” she yelled his name from her room, feeling a bit bad that he had just left a few moments ago.

                “Yeah… just hold on! Can I take a tinkle first,” he yelled back at her. She wanted to laugh at his choice of words, but then again she found herself blushing as she thought back to the last time she and Harry were in the bathroom together. _He wasn’t even hard and he was a decent size._ When he appeared back in her bedroom door a couple minutes later she tried to cancel her going south thoughts when she noticed the perplexed look on his face. “You couldn’t go a single second without me?”

                “It’s not that.” She frowned at him a bit even though she knew he was joking. “It’s just… could you… do a video call with me?”

                “To?” He opened her door to come stand by her bed, raising his eyebrows at her in question. “Oh… Gracie are you going-” he started, seeming to have figured out the situation on his own.

                Even though it was rude, she cut him off since she already knowing where he was going. “Just hear me out! It’s… if they see you I think it’ll be better. It won’t be a repeat of last time.”

                “You _really_ think so? I mean, I don’t know... after everything that happened last time what will me being there do for anyone?” He crossed his arms over his chest, letting out a sigh. “It’s not like your dad will magically like me by seeing it’s actually _me_ ,” he muttered.

                _Great he thinks my dad is after him. Well he kind of is, but this isn’t what I wanted._ “They’ll see you’re committed to me and won’t leave me stranded in Spain,” she tried to joke but Harry still didn’t look convinced. “Listen, I already told you my dad is really hard on guys, and I did clear your name up a bit last time, but this will be very helpful for him to see you’re not just into getting what you want then taking off.” He frowned at her words, but she just continued. “If you’re here with me he can at least see how you treat me, how nice you are and that you do care, and this isn’t just a game to you.” She raised her eyebrows at him, giving him a small smile. “So _please_ Harry? Just for me?”

                She knew whining Harry’s name always won him over, so she tried to add extra emphasis to his name in her sentence. He let out a defeated sigh, dropping his arms back down to his sides and making his way over to her. “Fine…”

                “Thanks,” she whispered, kissing his cheek before grabbing her phone. As she unlocked her phone she tried to make him feel better about the whole thing. She knew he was probably nervous. It just wasn’t like him to try and dodge his way out of situations like this. _Maybe he’s scared about making a really good first impression to Dad?_ “Just… you don’t have to say much, I’ll do the talking.”

                “Yeah you say that and watch your dad ask me some crazy question I can’t answer.”

                “Come on Harry, he’s not _that_ mean.” She looked over at him to find him pouting at her. “You already know what to say if he does say anything.”

                “I do?” he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes a bit.

                “Yes, just follow your gut instinct and… just be nice Harry.” Grace felt a bit weird telling him to be nice since he was usually always nice, but she didn’t need him to catch a mood swing on her right now. She hit the video call option by her Mom’s name before Harry could complain more. She hoped her parents wouldn’t be out grocery shopping or Dad was out fishing. She needed both of them to be there to tell them this news.

                “Grace?” Her mom picked up just as Harry moved out of frame, making Grace cringe on the inside. _Please let this go well._

                “Hey Mom!” She tried to sound cheery even though she was panicking a bit on the inside. She couldn’t let her mom know something was up between her and Harry.

                “Hi honey… this is different… that you called me this way.” She seemed to place her phone down on a table, propping it up with something as she made her next comment, “What’s the matter, and whose house are you in with that fancy walk in closet?”

                _Oh God…_ She glanced behind her, realizing she had indeed left her closet door open. As she was turning around to look she noticed Harry was giggling off the camera, making her want to roll her eyes at him but she held it back.

                “I’m back living with Harry again,” she said honestly, not wanting a repeat of last time.

                “Oh… Why are you back with him again? You have such a lovely apartment you’re not even using!”

                “It’s a long story…” She took in a breath before continuing. “But Mom… I called you because Harry and I need to talk to you and Dad about something.”

                “You and Harry? Grace… Are you pregnant!?”

                “Grace’s pregnant!?”

                Grace inwardly groaned when her dad’s voice came out of nowhere and she couldn’t help but sigh when he suddenly took the phone from Mom. _Why’d Mom have to jump the gun and why did Dad have to hop in at this moment out of nowhere?_

                “Grace Evergreen what is going on here!? No daughter of mine is getting pregnant by some guy she met just three months ago!”

                “Dad wait! I’ve known him for almost a year and I’m _not_ pregnant. That’s not what I called about at all!” She glanced over at Harry to give him an apologetic look but he just shrugged, looking vaguely amused yet worried about the whole ordeal.

                “Well why did you call us?”

                “Can we just all calm down first?” Grace patted Harry’s thigh off camera, trying to tell him not to worry about a thing. She took in another deep breath, trying to get herself ready for what was to come. “Ok… let’s start over please.” She glanced over at Harry before continuing. “Mom, Dad, this is Harry.”

                “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Evergreen.” Harry waved at the camera as he leaned in to her, bringing his body in closer so he could permanently be in the shot.

                “Oh…It really is him! It really is… oh!” Her mom suddenly became excited, grinning from ear to ear. “Grace he’s adorable, just like on the TV and in those magazines…! It’s just so hard to believe sometimes my little girl is with Harry Styles out of all people. You two are so cute together! Imagine the babies! You’re so lucky-”

                “Thanks Mom…” Grace couldn’t help but blush at her words in embarrassment. _Babies? Since when did the talk about her, Harry and babies come up?_ She didn’t miss either how Harry was smirking at her, giving her a look of _I’m so going to tease you about this later_.

                Her dad didn’t say anything as he looked Harry over, simply snorting as he said, “Continue,” completely ignoring his wife’s previous chatter.

                “Uhm well…” She glanced over at Harry for support, suddenly feeling like she was being interrogated. _It’s just your parents… come on Grace. And it’s not like you and Harry are getting married._

                Harry looked away from her and towards the camera, thankfully filling in for her. “We just wanted to say that… your lovely daughter and I are going to be flying out of the country together for my tour here soon.”

                Grace nodded, continuing after him as she held the phone steady in her hand. “I just wanted to call and tell you so there’s no surprises when I’m gone these next few months.” She looked over at Harry who nodded. “I’ll still keep in contact while I’m gone though. There’s some apps I can use to talk to you guys on while I’m away.”

                “So let me get this straight,” her dad muttered right after she finished talking. “You expect me to let you fly over to wherever the heck you’re going with your new boyfriend?”

                _This isn’t going how I need it to._ Grace bit her lip before deciding another tactic. “Dad… Mom too… You’ve seen the news with Harry not too long ago with that whole accident in London. Well… We can’t have that happening again. He needs all the support he can get right now, and just like he is always there for me, I need to always be there for him.”

                “Aw our Grace has grown up! Let them go together Kent!” Her mom turned to her father, a huge smile on her face. It was apparent she didn’t care as much as her father on letting her fly around the world with Harry. “They’re just like we used to be when we were younger! And look at him, he’s blushing! He’s not a bad boy.”

                At her mother’s words, Grace looked over at Harry to see he was indeed blushing even though he tried to hide it. She gave him a little smile which he returned before putting his head down in embarrassment. _Was it because of what I said?_

“Yeah, so? We did a lot of things back then…” Her dad sighed, looking up at the ceiling before addressing Harry. “Young man.”

                “Yes sir?” Harry looked up at the screen, his smile fading.

                “You… you must be something else to have my daughter talking about you like this… but that’s beyond the point. I want you to promise me something. You’re going to keep her safe while you’re out there, you understand me? Yeah you guys are just boyfriend and girlfriend, but you hold onto her like she’s something you never want to let go of. You make sure she’s taken care of. You make sure nothing bad happens to my baby girl or I’m going to be the one wringing your scrawny neck. You got that?”

                “Yes sir.” Harry nodded, not even flinching at her dad’s last words. Much to her surprise, he continued on with some words of his own. “Gracie’s someone very special to me.” He turned to face her, his green eyes pulling her in just like they did every time. “I wouldn’t dare let anything happen to her, I can promise you that a hundred percent Mr. Evergreen.

                “You’ve got quite some manners for some rich kid… I’ll tell you that, but you better keep that promise to me, my wife and my daughter Mr. Stars… Styles… This isn’t just some buffet when it comes to my daughter where you get all you can eat and leave. Now I’m trusting you on that promise kid.”

                “Yes sir, I understand that. When I first met her I knew she was something special. She’s one of a kind, and any man is lucky to have her. I just happened to be at the right place in the right time to end up with her.” He turned to smile at her again and she swore she could have melted. Harry always said nice things to her, but never before had she heard him talking about her like this. Her mom had always said he looked at her like she was his entire world, and at this moment she might believe those words just a little bit.

                “Enough with the mushy talk.” Her dad smiled just a little, but as soon as it was there it was gone. “Well… It’s not like I can’t tell you not to go out with him Grace. You’re older now so you know what to do. So if you feel in your heart to go out here with Harry, go ahead. I won’t stop you.”

                “Thanks Dad.” She nodded, trying not to bust out into a full grin. This wasn’t even a call to get his approval on anything, she just needed them both to understand she would be out of the states for a while, but gaining approval this way was something she didn’t think she’d be getting.

                “But anyway… it was nice meeting you Harry, but I would like to talk to my daughter alone if you don’t mind.”

                “Most certainly. It was nice meeting you too Mr. Evergreen.” Harry smiled and waved at him before he stood up, stepping out of frame to give Grace a huge smile before wiggling his eyebrows at her.

                “Just go outside,” she laughed at him, watching as he headed out of the guest bedroom door. “Alright, I’ve kicked him out Dad,” she joked, turning back to the camera.

                “Grace, Grace, Grace… what am I going to do with you,” her dad sighed as her mom just smiled at her. She almost thought she was in trouble until her dad continued. “You’re getting all grown up on me and flying out with boys… well this young man and… well, I’ll say this, you two work from what I can see. You two are nice together.”

                “Thank you.” She began blushing again, returning her mom’s smile.

                “But… with him out of the way, I wanted to tell you I do like the kid. He’s politer than I thought he’d be and way brighter than I thought. I can tell he values you, more than anything maybe, more than those other girlies he’s been with. He wasn’t lying when he said any of what he just said. I know the games, I know the looks, he couldn’t fool me if he tried. So remember that. You’ve got yourself a great guy there so… I’m proud of you and I hope you both have fun in whatever country you’re going to.”

                Grace sat there in stunned silence for a while, wondering where on earth her father’s kind words had just come from. Not too long ago he was wanting to punch Harry in the face for even breathing the same air as her, now he was saying he was a great guy. _Is this even real?_

                “Your father means it honey,” her mom suddenly chimed in. “Harry’s great. I look forward to seeing him in person, maybe when you guys come back from…?”

                “Europe.”

                “Europe… Take lots of pictures for your dad and I, and call us just before you leave and land in that first city! I know you both will have a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to hearing how great the tour is. You’ve never got a chance to see them live now look at you!”

                “Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad.” She smiled at the camera, still not believing this had turned out so well.

                “Well we’ll let you and Harry go. Tell him we said bye and we’ll hear from you later.” Her Mom waved at her and her Dad simply stood up as if he thought the video was over.

                “Bye! I love you both!”

                “Love you too dear!” Her mom said over her Dad’s grumbling about what was for dinner.

                Just like that the call she never thought would turn out so well ended. She could have screamed, she could have shouted, but instead she just turned her phone screen off and headed out of her room to find Harry.

                “We did it baby!” She suddenly said when she found him leaning on his kitchen counter between the living room and kitchen area, playing with his hands. He seemed to be taken by complete surprise as she leaned up to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug, pulling him flush against her body.

                “ _Baby_?” he barely choked out, hugging her back. “Since when did you start calling me _baby_?”

                “Don’t test me Harry.” Yeah, it was a bit out of character, but she was so happy right now she didn’t care. She hugged him tighter, feeling his body shake with laughter at her words. She couldn’t remember a time when hugging him had ever felt this good; it almost made her want to never let him go.

                “I’m glad I could make you this happy,” Harry suddenly whispered into her hair a few moments later as they hugged each other in silence.

                “What do you mean?” She stepped out of the hug only a little to look up into his eyes.

                He shrugged, his eyes looking away from hers for a brief moment before meeting her eyes again. “You know, I’m going to let you in on a little something Gracie.” He raised his eyebrows before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I’m… never too confident on these kinds of things. I may look like it and act like it, maybe… but you know… I never thought I’d make you _this_ happy.” He smiled at her gently, this time his eyes seeming the light up. “I know we haven’t been dating long and all but… I’m really glad I could do this much for you.”

                “Harry stop getting all soppy on me,” she laughed a bit, but she knew he was serious with the way his eyes twinkled at her. _This isn’t like him at all to be getting all emotional on me like this._

                “I _mean_ it though. Hearing you say all those things back there about me… it really made me happy. I _never_ thought I’d hear you saying those kinds of things about me. _Never_.” He gave her a lopsided grin as if he was a bit embarrassed by his own words. “It… means a lot.”

                _He’s going to make me cry…_ She blinked her eyes up at him, not quite knowing how to take this all in. She and Harry always talked about just about anything, but this had to be the most touching thing she had heard from him since he thanked her for listening to him back on the beach. He was so thankful for every little thing she did with and for him it was crazy. “You’re welcome Harry…” she said softly, reaching out to brush a few strands of his long hair out of his face. “But you know what you’re missing?”

                “What?” He raised his eyebrows just a little bit, his eyes still never leaving her face.

                “That I’m thankful too for everything you’ve done for me because you’re just as special to me as well. From just staying up late and talking to me, to dealing with everything last year with how crazy that was…” She paused for a bit, taking in a breath before continuing. “You know, it was only in my wildest dreams I thought I’d hear _you_ say anything like _you_ said back there to Dad.” She moved her arms from around his neck, moving her hands down his collarbones and to his chest, feeling his firm muscles react to her touch. “ _You_ mean so much to me Harry, and that’s why I enjoy doing all the little things for you when I can. And above all… let’s not forget how happy we both make each other feel.”

                She didn’t need to say anything else as she leaned in to kiss him. She didn’t care if it was a quick, gentle kiss or a more aggressive one, but Harry took the lead when he kissed her back harder than anticipated. She grabbed the front of his shirt in that moment to pull him in for more, wanting to feel nothing more than to be loved by him.

                He had to feel the same as his hands traveled down to her hips, gently squeezing them as he backed her up against the kitchen counter behind her. Grace didn’t ever think she’d be doing this in her life when Harry easily lifted her up onto the counter, putting himself between her legs as the kisses continued. In just a few quick moments she helped him remove his shirt, just before she wrapped her legs around his waist to bring his body as close to hers as possible. Then before she knew it, he was dropping those three little words he had uttered twice to her before.

                “I love you,” he whispered just when they broke away for air, his eyes immediately locking onto hers like his life depended on it. It was the most intense gaze he had ever given her, and it was enough to make her blood run cold.

                In that exact moment she knew he meant what he said as he breathed heavily in front of her, the muscles in his arms flexing as he leaned in even more to let her run one hand down his bare chest, across his sparrow tattoos, down to the butterfly… to the two vines…

                “I love you too,” she whispered back with just as much urgency as he had told her before reconnecting their lips. She knew that when he grinded his hips into hers, and when she tangled her fingers into his soft hair that there would be absolutely nothing that could compare to this moment she was having with him right now. She could never be thankful enough for bumping into him on the streets, she could never be thankful enough for everything they shared last summer, how he made her laugh, all the silly arguments they used to have, or even how he made her cry…

                She could never ever be thankful enough that they ran into each other again at the photoshoot for a second chance to make everything right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now aren't we all glad our two favorites bumped into one another again? Thanks for reading guys, and thank you all for your continued love and support for this series. This story is still one of my favorites to write, and I'm so glad so many of you enjoy it too. When you're having a bad day, or when things could just be better I always hope that this story can at least put a smile on your face. So thank you again for all your comments and your kudos as well as your bookmarks/subs! Next update things are going to get a bit _interesting_ so keep those seatbelts buckled. As always, I'll see you all next update!


	26. Change of Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! Some of your favorites may pop up this time around :) Happy reading!

                Time seemed to fly by ever since that afternoon when both Harry and Grace made out in his kitchen. Grace could only replay the scene over and over in her head: how his hands traveled up her thighs, how he breathed across her lips, and even how he’d sometimes laugh into the kisses about how they’d never do this if it was last year. Despite wanting to relive that moment again, she had more important things to worry about which included One Direction’s upcoming tour. She tried not to worry about it too much, but the day had finally arrived. She and Harry would be heading out in less than ten minutes to head to the airport.

                “We’ve got our toothbrushes…” Harry muttered as he started counting off the things they needed to bring along with them to Europe on his long fingers.

                “Check!” She followed after him, looking into each room as they went down the hall to make sure the lights were off and anything that could be a hazard wasn’t plugged in.

                “Our shampoo, our shower gel, your personal stuff…” He flipped the light switch off in his bathroom. “My schedule, our phones and… Happy’s taken care of?” He turned to face her just before they hit the entrance to his condo room.

                She nodded at him. “Yeah. Took him over my parent’s place so there’s no boarding fees we have to worry about.”

                “Nice.” Harry smiled at her before grabbing the handle on his luggage. “And…” A smirk suddenly appeared on his face, and she knew she was in trouble even before the next words were out of his mouth. “We’ve got condoms, right?”

                “Harry!” She yelled at him as he just continued to smirk at her before shrugging his shoulders as if nothing was wrong. Here recently he had been talking about sex way more than usual, and she was beginning to suspect he was trying to hint he wanted to get it on with her, especially while they were on tour.

                “It’s just a joke Gracie.” He smiled before patting his pockets down to make sure he had his wallet and cell phone for the umpteenth time. He then turned to face her again. “Alright, ready?”

                _I really doubt it was a joke. He’s probably got some in his wallet just in case._ “Ready.” She tried to push those thoughts aside as she grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter closest to his living room before getting the handle of her smaller luggage so she could follow him down and out of his building. She still felt a little nervous about going out of town with Harry, but she tried not to show it since she didn’t want to worry him. Instead, she tried to think about all the fun they’d have while out together, and she’d finally get to see what he actually did on tour besides performing. Plus, she had never been to a One Direction concert, but now she was living the dream by traveling with the boys and getting the inside scoop on everything.

                _This is still so unbelievable,_ she thought as he locked his door behind them, giving her a slight smile before taking the elevator down to the ground floor. She expected him to lead her over to his little blue Mercedes, but instead he motioned her towards a black SUV as it pulled up slowly to the curb.

                “We’re riding with my security today,” Harry explained as a man dressed in all black hopped out of the passenger side of the truck to grab both of their suitcases. “No use in me paying parking fees for my car at the airport when we’re going to be gone for so long.”

                She nodded, feeling slightly intimidated by the men as she and Harry climbed into the middle seats of the SUV. Last time she met one of his security guards was back when he somehow got her number, and called her out to that dilapidated warehouse to try to bribe her.

                “Matt, Henry, this is Grace. She’s going to be joining me and the others on the tour for the final leg,” Harry quickly introduced her when the man returned to his seat in the passenger side.

                “Oh we know who she is Harry,” the larger man that was driving laughed as he put the car into drive again, glancing back at them both in his rearview mirror. Grace instantly recognized him as the security guard Harry was with last summer. “She’s the one that you wouldn’t shut up about last leg of the tour.”

                “I-I did not!” Harry frowned a bit before putting his head down in embarrassment.

                “It’s alright,” the man kept laughing as the car lurched forward, this time his eyes looking over at Grace in the mirror. “Anyway, nice to meet you.”

                “Nice to meet you too.” She nodded at him before looking over at Harry who was still flustered. _He talked about me that much last year?_ She wanted to ask more, but she knew now wouldn’t be a good time to ask Harry about any of it. She thought about maybe asking Louis about it, but then that would be invading Harry’s privacy and she’d hate to do that. _That’s still cute though that he mentioned me back then._

                The rest of the ride to the airport was peaceful and quiet, letting Grace run through her thoughts before they were thrust into the hustle and bustle of the airport. She had ridden in Zayn’s private jet before, and could only imagine what Harry’s would be like. Would he have those same delicious cookies Zayn’s flight attendant had offered them or was Harry more into healthier snacks? Would Harry’s plane have Wi-Fi too?

                “You’ve sure got a serious face over there,” Harry suddenly commented, shaking her from her thoughts. “What are you thinking about?”

                She turned to face him, realizing he must have been studying her for quite a while. _I wish he'd quit asking me that question all the time._ “Nothing really… just this flight.”

                “You aren’t scared of flying, are you?” He leaned on the arm of his seat causing his unbuttoned shirt to gape open to reveal completely down to the bottom of his butterfly tattoo. It was nothing new to see, but it still had Grace nearly blushing.

                “Take off and landing can be a bit scary, but after that I’m fine.” Her eyes glanced down to his bare chest, and she couldn’t help but to think of the last time she was touching him. _He still thinks about that afternoon too, right? He’s got to._ “Are you ok with it?”

As usual, he didn’t react to her checking him out, he just continued on with the conversation. “It’s alright.” He leaned back in his seat to glance out the window as they turned onto a side street right next to the airport. He let out a breath before continuing. “I never really told this to anyone before other than the lads but… I hate flying.” He laughed a bit as he looked down at his lap while fiddling with his hands. “You’d think you’d get used to it after years of flying from here to there but… I’m always nervous about it.”

                “A lot of people are afraid of flying,” she said to make him feel better when she noticed he looked embarrassed about it. “Nothing’s going to happen to us though while we’re up there. We’re pretty safe compared to other accidents that could happen on the ground.”

                “Yeah… you’re right.” He looked up at her briefly when the SUV went over a speed bump slowly. “And nothing’s happened so far I guess.”

                “And nothing _will_ happen.” She glanced out the window as the truck began to slow down, noticing that they were already at their destination.

                He shrugged at her when she turned back around to face him, not looking convinced as they pulled up closer to the small jet waiting on them. As soon as the SUV came to a stop, his two security personal were jumping out to grab their luggage from the trunk, leaving them alone for a few moments.

                “Look on the bright side, at least we aren’t riding a commercial airliner where you’d get mobbed.” She reached over and patted his hand just before she unbuckled her seatbelt.

                “That is true,” he laughed a little, glancing down at his hand she had just touched. “Maybe with you flying with me this time it won’t be so bad. It gets awful lonely just flying with staff.”

                “I can imagine.” She turned around in surprise when one of his guards opened her car door, signaling for her to follow him.

                “Here we go,” Harry muttered mostly to himself as he hopped out of his side of the car, running his fingers through his hair as he walked to the front of the SUV.

                _Seems like I’m not the only one that’s nervous._ She followed suit while also trying to relish the cool breeze that had some of her hair tickling her face. Harry hadn’t told her how long this flight would be or where they were going yet, but she could only imagine it would be nearly the same amount of time it took her and Zayn to fly to London. Hopefully flying with Harry wouldn’t be boring at all, but after about twelve hours of being up in the air it could make anyone restless.

                “Today’s flight will thankfully be our longest this leg.” Harry slipped his hand into hers when she joined his side at the front of the SUV, watching as security lugged their heavy luggage towards the aircraft. His hand was cooler than usual, making her automatically squeeze it lightly while another black SUV similar to the one they had ridden in approached.

                “How many hours,” she asked as he squeezed her hand back as well.

                “That… I’m not telling you.” He smiled down at her while she frowned. “And don’t give me that look. I just don’t want you nagging me about if we’re there yet ninety times in a row.”

                “I _wouldn’t_ do that.” She focused back on the black SUV again as it stopped not too far from them, all four doors seeming to open at the same time. It was then that she knew things wouldn’t go as exactly as planned that day.

                “Harry buddy!” A familiar voice suddenly called from the other truck.

                “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Harry griped as a short blonde waved at him after he pulled a guitar case out of the truck.

                _I’m guessing he didn’t have it planned for them to show up._ Grace smiled politely as Harry’s three other bandmates approached, all smiling back at her as well.

                “Surprise! Look who’s here,” Liam said happily as he looked at Grace. “You’re seeing Harry off again?”

                “I’ll actually be joining you all this time,” she said quietly, not quite knowing how they’d all react. She didn’t think Louis or Liam would have a problem, but last time Niall had seemed a bit suspicious about her.

                “Oh!” Louis’ eyebrows shot up, but the smile still remained on his face. “What about your job though? And won’t it be lousy and irritating to spend what…” He glanced over at Niall. “A month and a half with us?”

                “Better question, why’re you two holding hands?” Liam’s voice and face suddenly became very serious. _Uh-oh…_

                “Isn’t it obvious? They’re datin’,” Niall finally spoke up, surprising Grace. The last time she had seen him he was behaving like he wanted nothing to do with her. _Maybe he was just having a bad day or something? No… he was saying weird things about Natasha last time he was around._

                “Dating… as in…” Liam looked from the younger man and then back to Harry, then Grace. “You two…?”

                “Don’t act so surprised Liam,” Louis sarcastically said before looking over at Grace. She could already see it coming from a mile away, but when he mouthed, “Did you two fuck?” she felt herself instantly starting to blush as she shook her head no. _Close, but no._

“ _When_ did this happen.” Liam was still freaking out when their security ushered them towards their plane. “And why am I last to know?”

                “Do I have to tell you everything about my private life?” Harry sounded a bit snippy to Grace but she chose to ignore it. _Maybe he’s just embarrassed by how everyone was reacting, or that they all showed up uninvited._

                “But you two _hated_ each other last year and you broke up and-!” Liam stopped to hold his hands out in front of him as if he was trying to put two and two together with his fingers. “I just don’t understand?!”

                “Don’t worry about it,” she finally spoke up which only sent Liam into a fit.

                “ _Don’t worry about it_ she says!” He started walking again, looking at first Louis then Niall in disbelief. “How am I not supposed to worry about it when I set this whole thing up?!”

                “Wait, what?” She stopped walking this time to turn and face him. Since Harry was still holding her hand he had to stop as well.

                “We’ve got eleven hours to explain _everything_ ,” Louis chimed in before Liam could explain himself as he took the first step onto the jet’s stair. He then got a sudden mischievous look on his face as he said, “Eleven hours Harry thought he’d get to make out with Grace here. Did you think we’d let you fly alone with her Harold?”

                “Shut up.” Harry rolled his eyes and looked, his cheeks slightly flushed.

                “God I love fucking with you,” Louis laughed, reaching over to ruffle Harry’s hair fondly before he ran up the stairs into the jet.

                “What a pain in the ass...” Harry muttered just before Liam started laughing.

                “You’ve got tons of explaining to do mate.” Liam rubbed Harry’s arm affectionately before heading into the plane as well. “As do you too miss.” He turned to wink at Grace before he disappeared into the cabin of the airplane.

                “I always got your back Harold, but not on this one,” Niall laughed just before he squeezed past Harry. He only gave a fleeting glance towards Grace, but Harry missed it as he tried to fix his hair.

                “You didn’t plan on them showing up did you,” she asked when he dropped her hand.

                “Not fucking at all.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “Don’t get me wrong Gracie, I love my boys but… yeah… I just wanted some me and you time.”

                _So did I… but the guys aren’t that bad to have around._ “We’ll make the best of it,” she said to her annoyed boyfriend before heading into the jet as well.

                _Eleven hours with One Direction on a tiny little jet._ Grace could only imagine in her wildest dreams how this would go.

* * *

 

                The flight wasn’t as bad as Grace thought it would be as Harry loosened up and the other boys stopped teasing him so much. The guys also knew Harry was sensitive about flying, so thankfully they didn’t bother either of them when she held his hand on takeoff for his comfort. He had squeezed her hand back and given her a small smile, knowing that she as well wasn’t too keen on take offs either. As soon as that moment was over though, his bandmates were all over him about his new girlfriend, not even bothering to bring up Natasha. For good reasons though she could imagine. _Maybe they know something I don’t, but come to think of it Harry is still hiding something from me._

                “I’m proud of you both though. You’re finally together and so cute,” Liam gushed after he heard the news of them being together. Harry had explained most of it, only going into bare details on how they finally got together after the Ed Sheeran concert.

                “You’re really starting to scare me Liam. You sound like someone’s mum,” Harry laughed from his seat by Grace, seeming to be over his flying fears momentarily.

                “You really do,” Niall said in agreement as he shook his head and looked out the tiny airplane window. His behavior wasn't as odd as last time, but Grace still noticed something was still a bit off on how he’d keep most of his attention on either Harry, the other guys, or out the window. He was still never playful with her like last year.

                _Could it be because he doesn’t want Harry and I to be together? Nah he was pretty excited last year about us. Maybe he just won’t talk to me now since I’m dating his bandmate, but that makes no sense… Harry doesn’t care if we talk or not… Something’s up._ She narrowed her eyes at him but turned away when Liam began to speak again.

                “Don’t even talk. You knew before all of us!” Liam rolled his eyes at him before leaning back in his seat. He had seemed pretty annoyed that Harry hadn’t told him sooner, in which Harry asked why on earth he would need to tell Liam his dating news. Thankfully, Liam got over all of it quickly.

                “So Liam, care to explain what you meant by you orchestrated all of this,” Grace asked in the pause that followed, feeling a bit left out of their conversation.

                “That...” Liam’s face turned red, but before he could speak Louis beat him to it.

                “Liam set you guys up all long,” he said simply, ignoring both Grace's and Harry's shocked expression.

                “What? How?” Harry’s voice was way too loud in Grace’s ear. “Liam don’t fucking try and take credit for a random encounter. It’s not like you set us up on a blind date or anything like that!”

                “Wow language!” Louis beat Liam to it again. “Did you already forget the plan of last summer Harold?”

                “That... ” Grace started before frowning at Liam. “That crazy idea he had where we’d fake being together!” _No wonder he was so weird and so distraught over us not wanting to live together anymore. I should’ve known something was up._

                “What does that have to do with anything? It’s not like it would force us to fall in love.” Harry let out a sigh. “It was just some stupid plan-”

                “That you agreed to like a dumbass,” Grace muttered before he could finish. Harry turned to glare at her, but Liam picked right back up on the conversation.

                “Harry how long have I known you?” Before he could answer Liam continued, “You never make good decisions in your love life mate so me, Louis and... Zayn decided to help.”

                _Wait Zayn?_ Grace raised her eyebrows when his name was mentioned. _I’m going to have to talk to him later._

                Harry frowned at him. “You guys are fucking crazy. I-”

                “Don’t even start Harry with that shit. You’re both together now, right? And clearly very happy, right?”

                “Well yeah but...” Harry glanced at Grace before letting out another sigh. She knew he thought this was ridiculous as well, but she didn’t say anything. How Liam decided to randomly force a stranger to stay over Harry’s place to get them together was beyond her. _He couldn’t have possibly done this right off the bat. Maybe it was in the next few weeks he decided we’d be nice together but still… What!?_

                “So... You’re welcome!” Liam laughed which had both Harry and Grace rolling their eyes. _Who would’ve thought._

All five of them sat in silence for several more moments. Harry looked irritated as he leaned on his arm on the arm rest. Liam and Louis were staring absentmindedly into space while Niall still stared out the window as they passed through several clouds. Grace had nothing else to say to them so all she could do was sit silently as well, wishing that it was just her and Harry still. She just wanted to talk to him without the other boys randomly teasing them or jumping in on conversations they had no business being in.

                To break the silence Louis suddenly asked, “So... We all know where we’re going for this gig?”

                “Grace doesn’t.” Harry raised his eyebrows at her as he sat up a bit.

                “Harry wanted to surprise me or something.” She looked away from him to meet Louis’ eyes. “So I have no clue where on earth we’re going.”

                “So you just hopped on a plane with us? What a couple...” he muttered to himself before shaking his head. “Well can I tell her Harold?”

                “Yeah.” The youngest man drummed his fingers on his left thigh. “We were going to talk about it anyway on the way there.”

                “After you made out with her on every seat in here maybe,” Louis commented which had both Niall and Liam snickering.

                “Can you guys knock it off?” Harry frowned at them, but they only laughed harder.

                “This is priceless though.” Liam scratched the side of his nose. “When have you out of all people ever brought a girl on tour, huh?”

                “When’s he ever lasted more than two months with a girl,” Louis snickered under his breath.

                “Hey,” Harry interjected, but they continued to talk right over him.

                “Just know you’re pretty damn special.” Liam winked at Grace to add her back into the conversation. She understood half of what they were talking about, but the other half she wouldn’t be bothered with. _What’s in the past needs to stay in the past._

                “But anyway, back on point.” Louis sniffed before leaning forward in his seat. “We’re all heading out to Madrid first. We’ve got this big stadium to play in the night after we arrive, and we’ve got to live it up lads.”

                “We’ve got this.” Niall looked over at them finally. “Setlist is the same as before, the fans are even more hyped up... what could possibly go wrong?”

                The other boys fell into silence, each selecting an empty spot to stare at as the jet engine hummed in the background.

                “You all will do just great,” Grace said, sensing they were a bit nervous about performing again. “You’ve performed plenty of shows before successfully so there’s nothing to worry about.”

                “Yeah... You’re right,” Liam said quietly, clearing his throat a bit. “We’ve got a bit of an extra load we have to carry.” He turned to Louis this time, his expression becoming unreadable.

                “It’ll be fine,” Harry repeated after her. He sat up in his seat briefly to remove his black jacket. “We’ve been fine before, just the four of us, and we’ll be fine now, just like Gracie said.”

                She turned to face him, meeting his half smile with a bigger one. She was a bit surprised he backed her up, but she was even more surprised the other guys agreed with them.

                “You’re right… but let’s not talk about this for too long.” Liam clapped his hands together. “We need to get all the shut eye we can before things get crazy.” Liam suddenly got up from his seat to head towards the empty row behind both Louis and Niall.

                “That we should,” Louis agreed as he headed for the row of seats adjacent to him.

                “Ten more hours to go,” Niall muttered while leaning back in his chair since there wasn’t another clear row for him to move to, or perhaps he was just too lazy to move.

                “You have enough room?” Harry asked when his other bandmates finally quieted down.

                She nodded, turning to face him to only realize how close his face was to hers. _He could kiss me right now if he wanted._

                “We should get some rest like they said though. When you’re with me, you’re going to realize how important it is to get sleep when you can.”

                “Yeah...” She felt bad for them in that moment, but the boys did love their job no matter what. “I want you to take care of yourself though,” she whispered, meeting his eyes. She didn’t even need to imagine how exhausting this type of life and job could be, she just knew it was.

                “Alright _mum_ ,” Harry joked. “But honestly... I will. I know you’re worried about me after last time and all...”

                “We all were.” She reached up to push some of his hair out of his face. “Just... Promise me one thing on this tour... That you’ll take care of yourself and have fun.”

                “Gracie that’s two things, and the second is a given,” he laughed quietly as Liam’s loud snore cut through the cabin. “Can you promise me something though?”

                “What?”

                “That you’ll have fun with me.”

                She nodded at him, giving him a smile. Before she could say anything else, Harry leaned in to give her a brief peck on the lips.

                “Get a room you two!” Louis suddenly yelled, making Harry turn to glare at him. He laughed at Harry, but gave Grace the thumbs up.

                “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Harry groaned again, rolling his eyes and letting out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat.

                _Yeah... This tour would be interesting all right._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I still can't thank you guys enough for your continued support through comments or just a kudos. You all truly keep me motivated, and I'm so glad you all enjoy reading this story as well. Next chapter things will get a bit _interesting_ and it's a long read, so get ready. As always, I'll see you all next update :)


	27. Happy Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys so the next update is here, and this had to be my favorite chapter to write in this book. It's a really long chapter, but completely worth it. Happy reading, and have a great weekend!

                Despite Grace’s several small fears of flying abroad with Harry and his bandmates, possibly being stalked by fans in hotels, and missing home, she found the tour to be very enjoyable so far, minus Harry’s bandmates teasing every now and then. Eventually, the boys did light up with their teasing and they got used to her hanging out with them sometimes, but Liam in particular would sometimes slip in a joke every now and then.

                Besides Harry’s bandmates being a bit troublesome, Grace went out to Harry’s first show in Madrid to show her support for him as promised after a long day of resting. Before the show though, Harry had admitted to her he was a bit nervous to get on stage that night.

_“You? Scared?” She didn’t mean to sound so shocked but she didn't expect Harry to be this worried about one little concert. He had done it countless times before, so what was the big deal?_

_He shrugged his shoulders at her while chewing on the joint of his index finger. “It’s just... I don’t know we all know what happened last time and to be fair…” He looked up and over at her when he pulled his hand away from his mouth, shifting his position a bit in his chair. “…All celebrities get nervous, no matter how long they’ve been performing. It’s like, you getting scared to give a speech in front of your class. No matter how many times you’ve given a speech before, you’re still nervous, right?”_

_She nodded, understanding him a bit now. Even though she hadn’t been in a classroom setting since early last year, she could completely relate. She wanted to say something to comfort him in that moment, but before she could he was continuing on with his sentence._

_“And even though we do rehearse and stuff so much can go wrong, you know?”_

_“Don’t be so negative Harry.” She raised her eyebrows at him as she sat on the hotel bed across from him. Harry had told her the hotel room would have two beds, but instead when they got there it only had one. She wanted to get it changed, but there was nothing staff could do about it since the whole floor was set up that way, so she and Harry were stuck sleeping together in the tiny bed.  “Your good times on stage outweigh the bad ones, right? And remember, I'll be there. If you need reassurance, just look at me.”_

_He looked into her eyes for a moment, seeming to consider her words before breaking out into a small smile and nodding in agreement. “Yeah… you’re always right Gracie.” His eyes twinkled for just a bit, and she knew in that moment he thought the world of her._

                Despite his doubts as well, the first concert went off without a hitch just like she had told him, and so did the several other dates that followed. He interacted with his fans as usual, but sometimes he’d sneak over to Grace’s side to give her the most adorable or flirty fan service. She didn’t want the added attention, since mostly everyone knew who she was, but she wouldn’t stop Harry from having his fun. She knew it was his way of letting out his nervousness as well, so she certainly wouldn’t stop him.

                With each tour date that passed though, Grace’s birthday came closer and closer until it was finally there. She wasn’t giddy like she would be when she was younger, but the night before her birthday when she and Harry were in the hotel room together in Vienna she couldn’t help but to be happy just thinking about spending her birthday with Harry. All her previous birthdays she had spent with just a few friends and her family, but to finally spend her special day with someone she really liked meant a lot to her.

                Unfortunately for her though, Harry didn’t seem to feel the same.

                It all started when she and the boys flew into Paris the day of the concert. Of course everyone slept on the way in since they were all sleep deprived to begin with, but unlike the other times they flew in on the same day as the concert, Harry decided he was going to sleep the entirety of the day away until it was time for everyone to head out to the stadium.

                “I’m so fucking tired,” he moaned as he threw himself on the bed as soon as they arrived in their hotel room. This time, the hotel had gotten it correct with the bed situation, but Grace was so used to sleeping with Harry she wouldn’t mind cuddling up with him in his bed at all.

                “Get some rest then.” She placed her purse on her bed before wheeling her luggage to the foot of it. “We’ve got six hours before we have to head out, so you have plenty of time to take a nap.”

                “Mmm…” He paused for a moment in thought before continuing. “Wake me up in five hours, ok Gracie?” His eyes only focused on her for a few seconds before he closed them, not seeming to care at all about sleeping in the clothes he flew in.

                Grace let out a quiet, irritated sigh at him, not because he was tired, but because he hadn’t even bothered to tell her happy birthday yet today. She didn’t expect the other members to tell her anything since they didn’t even know about it, but it did hurt that Harry hadn’t even made mention of it. _He specifically told me when we were back in LA he had a surprise for me..._

                She understood how tired he must have been, but she couldn’t help but to be a little upset her own boyfriend didn’t remember her birthday. _He couldn’t have possibly forgotten? He was making a huge fuss about it before we left LA… but then again all while we were on tour together he hadn’t even mentioned it… not even yesterday._

                Trying not to think about it for too long, she decided to head out on her own for a bit on their reserved and secured hotel floor. She thought about maybe visiting one of the other boys’ rooms, but Louis and Niall had opted to go to a local bar before the concert while Liam said he wanted to just chill out in his room. _Maybe I can just visit Liam,_ she thought as she made her way to the older man’s room, but her phone ringing in her pocket stopped her.

                “Who could it be,” she muttered, pulling it out and checking caller ID. When she saw the name _Mom_ fill the screen, she began to smile instantly, already knowing what the call was for. _At least one person remembers._

                “Grace hi! Happy Birthday sweetie!” Her mom immediately said when she answered the call.

                “Thanks Mom.” She smiled even harder as she stopped just a few feet away from her and Harry’s room door. She leaned up on the wall to support herself, not wanting to just stand awkwardly in the hall even though she knew barely anyone would come by.

                “How are you on your special day? We haven't talked in a while!”

                _Oh fine... I haven’t gotten much sleep since we’ve been on tour thanks to having to constantly fly to these different locations, and I’m pissed off that Harry can’t even say a simple happy birthday, but other than that it’s great_ , she wanted to say but instead went with a simple, “I’m doing good. We all just landed in Paris not too long ago. How are you doing?”

                “Paris! How fun! You’re going to have to take so many pictures while you’re there, and send them to me and your dad! And I’m just fine. Dad’s fine too!” She paused for a moment, and for some reason Grace already knew she was going to ask her the last question she wanted to hear. “How’s Harry? What did he do special for you today? I know it has to be cute!”

                Grace cringed at the question even though she already knew it was coming. Her mom was crazy about Harry, and every time she called she’d ask about him, unlike her dad who would barely make mention of him. _Great now what do I do..._ As she tried to piece her words together she caught sight of a security guard making his way down the hall, probably making sure a fan hadn’t strayed into the halls. She gave him a faint smile as he passed by, and he nodded at her in greeting before continuing his stroll.

                “He’s... He’s pretty worn out from tour right now,” Grace decided to honestly say, not wanting to lie to her mother anymore about Harry. She could’ve told her that he bought her a huge cake and had all the guys to sing happy birthday to her, or how he took her out to the Eiffel Tower and gave her a huge kiss, but she didn’t need any lies coming to bite her in the butt later. “We haven’t gotten a chance to do anything since we landed. Things have been _really_ busy lately with the tour.”

                “Oh...” her mother sounded a bit disappointed, but carried on talking to cover it up. “Don’t sound so sad dear.” She cleared her throat. “I can only imagine what he goes through putting on those shows and flying all over the place. He’s probably exhausted, but I’m a hundred percent sure he didn’t forget about your birthday or anything. I bet he’ll do something amazing later! The day is still young there, right?”

_I tried to hide that I was sad… did it really come out like that?_ “Yeah...” She glanced down the empty hall, wishing more than anything that she and Harry were out on a lunch date or something nice. She wanted to walk down the streets of Paris, looking at all the things the city had to offer while holding his hand. They’d walk so close his shoulders would bump hers, but they’d laugh it off while he squeezed her hand, not caring at all that people were staring at them. She shook her head to bring her out of her daze before continuing, “He does do a lot and you’re right... ” _I really hope you’re right._

                “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it Grace! Harry absolutely adores you, of course he’ll do something. But I’m going to let you go dear to enjoy your birthday with him, and I can imagine you must be exhausted too. Call me when you get the chance, alright?”

                “Alright Mom.” Grace frowned at her mother’s way of abruptly ending the call, but she figured something else must have come up. “Thanks for the birthday wish as well!”

                “It’s nothing dearie. Alright bye! Tell Harry I said hi, and I love you!”

                “Ok I will. Tell Dad I love him!” She laughed a bit, standing up straight off the wall. “Love you too and goodbye!”

                After she ended her call Grace let out a huge sigh, hoping her Mom was right about Harry. If he truly did forget, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. _Maybe this is payback though for when I skipped out on his party,_ _b_ _ut that was under completely different circumstances and he still doesn’t know I lied to him.  
_

                Just as she was about to feel sad again she noticed she had a new message notification in her status bar. She opened it, thinking maybe it was Louis asking her to help Niall back in after one too many beers or a drunk text, or maybe even Liam asking if she wanted to do anything, but instead it was a new message from Zayn.

                “Odd… We haven’t spoken in weeks,” she muttered before opening the message to find he had sent her a video. She frowned in confusion, just wondering what it could be, but as soon as she hit play she began to instantly smile again.

                Zayn launched into the Happy Birthday song as soon as the video started, a huge smile on his face as he sat in presumably his living room. Grace couldn’t help but laugh as he clapped along to his own beautiful singing, dramatically ending the song after the first two verses. She expected the video to end, but it continued as Zayn kept smiling into the camera while launching into a birthday message. “Happy Birthday babe! You’re about to be an old woman now!” He laughed loudly, shaking his hands at her in a just kidding gesture. “Anyway… I hope I made you smile with this though sweetheart, and made your day a little better. I hope all your birthday wishes come true! You’re beautiful and I wish you a beautiful, beautiful birthday! Love you!” He then ended the video with a small wave.

                _That was the cutest thing._ She immediately began to type him back a thank you message, but then it hit her. How had he known it was her birthday? She never told any of the guys about her birthday. She had only told Harry because he had snooped in on her calendar. _Did Harry… Maybe?_

                **_Thanks Zayn so much! This was so cute!!! But how did you know it was my birthday?_**

                She took a deep breath after she sent out her text, glancing down the hallway to find she was still alone. Just as she was about to head back into her room, Zayn’s text came in. _He’s always so fast._

**_You’re welcome babe. Oh... A special someone told me ha._** ** _:P_** ** _I’m being nice this time to you, but I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, so please don’t ask around. Just know he has been thinking of you_**.

                _So it’s got to be Harry…_ She couldn’t help but smile again as she returned to her room, quietly unlocking and opening the room door to find Harry still sleeping on his bed. Since there was nothing else for her to do for another good four hours, she decided on getting a nap as well. Maybe she’d feel better and just maybe, Harry really would have something special for her later.

* * *

               

                “Five minutes Harold!”

                “I know!” Harry yelled back at Louis as he stood backstage with Grace before show time. He then turned back to face her, giving her an apologetic look. “Look… sorry all this is rushed and all but we’re really behind schedule.” He ran his fingers through his hair quickly, a motion she knew well enough. He was nervous and a bit stressed out.

                “It’s alright Harry.” She kept her face neutral, trying not to show she was a bit concerned about him. He still hadn’t told her happy birthday, but she had let it go once she noticed he was acting a bit different after his nap. Regardless of his normal grogginess and occasional grumpiness after naps, he was spaced out a bit or either very deep in thought. She had let him think through whatever was running through his mind without bothering him, but that didn’t stop her from being worried about him. “I’ll just go out to my seat and get out of your way.”

                “Don’t say it like that.” He frowned at her a bit. “You’re not ever in my way.” He reached up to ruffle her hair before leaning in to give her a hug. “You be careful out there, alright?” he whispered into her hair, slightly nuzzling his cheek into the side of her head.

                She nodded into his chest, instantly comforted by the smell of him, his cologne and the cherry flavored cough drops he was eating earlier. “You’re going to do great tonight,” she reassured him, just maybe hoping her words would make him feel better.

                “Thanks Gracie.” He suddenly squeezed her tighter before letting go, a slightly shy smile on his face. “You’re going to do great tonight too.”

                Before she could ask him what he meant he was jogging off towards another part of backstage to make last minute preparations before he had to go out on stage. “I’m going to do great,” she repeated under her breath, completely puzzled. She shook her head, turning to head towards the doors that would lead her out and into the stadium grounds. _What on Earth is he even talking about?_

                As soon as she got to her sectioned off seat in the front row on the floor the show started. The lights went off as a mix of all of One Direction’s songs began to play, making the fans go wild. She smiled to herself as the boy’s pictures flashed by on the screen as the music played, knowing for some reason tonight would be a hell of a time.

                The concert went smoothly as usual with Harry being his normal, wild self, Liam and Louis playing with each other, and Niall sometimes being the butt end of all of their jokes. It wasn’t until nearly the end, right before their encore, did Grace start to notice this night wouldn’t go as planned.

                It started when a One Direction staff member came over to her right when the boys came back on stage from their break and requested she come backstage for a while. She wanted to question why, but instead she glanced up on stage for Harry. Unfortunately, the slightly older man had his back turned to mess with one of the guitar players. _Just when I need him he’s not paying attention._

“Can I ask why?” She frowned a bit, not understanding what on earth they could want from her backstage. Harry was fine, wasn’t he? He was just skipping around earlier on stage, and making fun of a fan with a skirt that was way too short a few songs ago.

                “Safety precautions,” the woman said, her eyes shifting away from Grace’s. “The fans are getting a bit out of control over here, and Harry doesn’t want anything to happen to you.”

                Grace bit her lip knowing that wasn’t true at all. The fans were just being themselves by having a great time, and she had her own security personal over on her side if anyone messed with her. Harry had told her in advance that he’d make sure no one would harm her, so she didn’t have anything to worry about.

                Nevertheless, she quietly but cautiously followed the staff member back towards the stage and into a door marked Staff Only. _Harry never said anything about needing me tonight or anything about safety? Maybe something came up, but this woman could be lying... but she can’t do anything hurtful to me on concert grounds. There’s too many security guards, and Harry’s always telling someone to keep an eye on me._

                “Alright guys…” she heard Harry’s voice on the speaker as she was still led down the hall to an unknown destination. “How are you all doing tonight? Are you having a great time?”

                The staff member stopped her near the main entrance to the stage, leaving her by several TVs that showed all the cameras’ live feed of the show. This time, all cameras were pointed on Harry as he walked down the catwalk, a slight smile on his face as the crowd screamed at him.

                “We’re all having a great time!” he screamed back, making the crowd go even crazier. He then laughed a bit, pushing his long hair out of his face as he sauntered to the edge of the catwalk. “But ladies and gentlemen… things are about to get even more exciting this evening as I personally have something _very_ special planned.”

                _What’s Harry talking about, and why am I back here still?_ She bit her lip when she noticed a security guard coming to flank her just out of her peripheral vision. _What is going on!?_

                “You guys have been _amazing_ to us, and I know you know it, but you’re the best fans in the world.” Harry carried on with his usual speech, using his hands as he talked. “And tonight is no different. I need you guys to help me with a bit of something though. Can you do that for me?”

                The crowd went wild, completely under Harry’s spell. He glanced down at one of the cameras closest to him, a huge smile on his face as he continued. “Today’s a very special and important day to me and to someone else I know,” he repeated as he headed back up towards the main part of the stage, dodging a stuffed bear someone threw at him and perhaps a condom pack. “And I need you guys to get your singing voices ready for a very, _very_ special person to me.”

                Grace nearly felt her heart stop, knowing exactly where Harry was going with this. _He wouldn’t… would he? Not in front of all of these people…_

                Oh, he would…

                “Miss Evergreen,” the staff member from earlier called her name as she began to usher her out towards a door that would lead her out to the stage. She felt chills all over her body when the screaming got louder and louder until suddenly she was under the bright lights of the stage in front of thousands of people.

                She blinked, trying to let her eyes adjust to the light as well as her ears adjust to the buzz of the stadium in front of her. She felt the security guard from earlier hold her wrist as he led her a little ways away from the door and right to Harry who was proudly walking over to her.

                “Hey…” Harry greeted her instantly in a gentle voice for only her to hear as he brought the mic away from his face. He nodded a thanks to the staff member and guard, but then put his complete focus on his girlfriend. “How are you? Relax sweetheart.” He gave her a reassuring laugh as he took her hand in his to lead her out towards center stage. “You’re with me and everything will be alright.” He kept his voice even and gentle despite the screaming crowd, and she had to admit it did make her feel better even though she was faced with potentially very jealous and dangerous fans.

                “I want you to all welcome Grace on stage here”, Harry said happily into his mic, turning to face her briefly before turning back to the crowd. He let them all get their cheers out before gripping her hand tighter to get her to relax still. “Gracie’s been a very special and significant person to me this past year.” He took a step forward and she matched his steps, trying to walk her anxiety off. _Just breathe Grace… Breathe…_

“And there’s been something I’ve been meaning to tell her all day.” He turned to her briefly, keeping his eyes locked on hers before quickly looking back at his bandmates. 

                On cue Liam started singing the Happy Birthday song into his mic in a low voice as he sat down on one of the stage props. Grace turned to look at the other members of One Direction as they all joined in the song one by one, shocked but pleasantly surprised at the change of events. She caught Niall raising his arms up to get the fans to join in, and before she knew it the whole stadium was echoing with the birthday tune.

                Grace turned back to Harry to find he was still looking at her, the shy smile still on his face as he sung into his microphone as well. She started to blush with the way he was looking at her, as if he was the proudest and happiest person on the whole earth right now.

                _So has he and the other guys been hiding this from me all along? Is this why he never told me happy birthday earlier and was acting so weird?_ She kept her eyes on his, smiling back at him as her eyes threatened to water from tears of joy. Grace wasn’t a very emotional person, but for Harry to do something this big for her meant a lot. _And here I was thinking he had forgotten all about my birthday and I was so mad at him… How can I ever repay him for this?_

“Happy Birthday toooooo youuuuuu,” Harry and Liam finished dramatically, Harry taking the lower part while Liam took the high part. She heard the fans clapping and cheering in the background, with the occasional boos from a few sore fans, but the next thing she knew Harry was wrapping his arms around her. She could feel and hear nothing but him.

“Happy birthday babe,” he said into her ear, giving her the tightest bear hugs he’d ever given her. He pulled away after what felt like ages, but before she could tell him thank you he leaned in and suddenly kissed her right in front of thousands of people.

                “Holy shit,” she heard Niall mutter into his mic before she was completely lost in the way Harry was kissing her like his life depended on it. She was expecting maybe just a gentle peck on the lips, but Harry completely dominated her this time with the most passionate kiss she’d gotten from him since they started dating.

                She didn’t know how long they were up there kissing on stage, but in what felt like hours later she heard his mic drop to the stage floor and the next thing she knew his hands were on her waist, squeezing her hips harder than anticipated. She gasped a bit at his boldness, and he took that opportunity to tilt his head slightly to side to lock her bottom lip between his.

                _I’m not just about to make out with him on this stage._ She wanted to tell him to stop but to keep going at the same time, liking where he was taking this as his tongue ghosted along her bottom lip. _I can’t sit up here and suck Harry’s tongue in front of all of his fans! But he’s so into it and doesn’t even care…_

Just as Harry was about to intensify everything, she heard Louis screaming, “Get your tongue out of her throat Harold! We’ve got kids here!” before he erupted into laughter with presumably Liam.

                Harry seemed to remember the time and place they were in again as he pulled away slowly after Louis’ words. He immediately locked his eyes back on Grace’s to give her the most intense expression she had received from him in her time knowing him. He ignored the whistles from upper stage from his bandmates as he brought both of his hands up to cup her cheeks before whispering, “I love you _so_ much Gracie.”

                “I love you too.” She smiled up at him, keeping her hands on his waist. She honestly felt like crying at that moment, but held herself together as Harry returned her smile.

                “Happy birthday sweetheart,” Harry said again before kissing her one more time. This time he kept it short and sweet, bringing her into yet another hug after they broke apart. He rocked her from side to side gently for a moment while whispering, “I’ve got so much more planned for us later after the show.”

                She felt butterflies in her stomach after he uttered those words and he pulled away, the same gentle yet shy smile on his face from earlier still present. She nodded at him, whispering a thank you for only him to hear.

                “Let’s give a huge round of applause to Harry and his lovely girlfriend!” Liam finally yelled something worth saying into his mic. She did not look up at him, but she knew he had to have had a huge smirk on his face. _This is never going to leave any of their memories… Mine either._

                She could barely hear with the roar of the clapping and yelling in her ears as she was escorted back off stage again, this time by Harry who kept his arm around her waist the whole way there. “I’ll see you later, ok babe?” Harry kissed first her temple, then her cheek before handing her off to his staff. “We have a _huge_ night ahead of us.” He let go of her waist to only slap her ass, making her stare at him in shock.

                _Harry did not just slap my ass in front of his staff and fans!_ “Harry Styles!” she half yelled at him, but he just laughed at her before disappearing back out the door to yell a massive thank you to his fans.

                _What am I going to do with him?_ She sighed as the staff smiled at her, telling her happy birthday as she was led back to her seat to finish watching the concert. _What am I going to do with him tonight rather._

* * *

 

                “Great show tonight guys!”

                Grace heard the staff members clapping out in the hall as the members of One Direction returned backstage after ending their successful concert in Paris. She had returned backstage just after Harry’s last solo in _What Makes You Beautiful_. She knew he got nervous as hell on that part in particular and she wanted to be there for him. He had locked eyes with her the whole time, and she wondered just briefly if he ever thought about the secret both of them shared with that song. He then quickly gave her a huge smile when he nailed his part perfectly before he went skipping off to the other side of the stage. Once that was over with, she then busied herself with getting Harry’s things ready to go so they could leave the venue quickly. She couldn’t wait to see what he had planned for her later even though it did make her a bit nervous. He wouldn’t get weird on her, would he?

                _I_ still _can’t believe he got an entire stadium to sing happy birthday to me_ and _kissed me in front of everyone though._ She let out a happy sigh as she replayed the moment over again in her mind. The way Harry stared into his eyes, how soft his hands were on her face before he kissed her, how warm and soft his lips were on hers…

                “Hey!” Harry’s sudden voice and the opening of the door snapped her out of her thoughts as he came into his dressing room. “How’d you like the show?”

                “It was amazing as always. Vocals were perfect, you guys had fun, and the fans had fun.” She smiled at him, not missing the hint of mischief in his eyes. “You guys did amazing tonight, _you_ specifically.”

                “Well, there’s more of that where that came from,” he laughed, looking around the room to make sure he had everything. “You packed up all my stuff already?”

                “Cell phone, charger, your extra change of shirts, your deodorant, some cologne, a random comb, two bottles of water, and a stuffed frog you pulled off the floor tonight.” Grace ran through the list of things she packed into his bag quickly, wanting more than anything to just leave. She had never been so excited in her life to be spending time with Harry tonight.

                “You’re good. Want to take up the job of my personal assistant?” He smirked at her as he reached down into the side pocket of his bag to pull his cell phone out to check for any missed calls or messages.

                “I don’t think I’d be qualified enough.”

                “Babe, you’re _more_ than qualified.” Harry kept the smirk on his face as he turned his phone screen off, and tucked it back into his bag. She had to admit, he looked amazingly hot, but she tried to control herself. _Wait until you get home Grace. You’ve both had enough of making out with each other in public._

“You’re so sexy when you look at me like that,” Harry half growled, half whispered suddenly under his breath as he walked towards her, and in that moment Grace had to admit _that_ was the hottest thing she ever got out of him. _He’s always horny after his concerts, but is it just me or is he worse tonight? Did he maybe get turned on from one little kiss and humping his mic stand afterwards?_

“You’re really going to love tonight.” He brought her into his arms for a hug, bringing her to his hot, sweaty chest.

                “Yeah maybe after you take a shower,” she laughed at him, smelling the sweat on him from his craziness on stage earlier. She had seen him on stage via recordings online and she knew he could get quite crazy, but seeing it in person over the past few days was something else. It was slightly shocking as well when he’d point all his crotch grabbing in her direction or when he’d suddenly decide he wanted to grab another one of his bandmate’s crotches. _Yeah we’re definitely going to have to stop back at the hotel before we do anything else…_ She playfully pushed his chest but he grabbed her hand, letting his hair falling over half of his face. He was truly a work of art.

                “What’s so funny?” He squeezed her hand briefly before dropping it to push his hair out of his face. He then turned to grab his bag by his side to rummage through it and pull out a clean white T-Shirt.

                “You’re just… different tonight.” She paused in her sentence when he swiftly removed his soiled shirt he was wearing, giving her another view of him shirtless. She tried not to react, but Harry didn’t seem to mind or care as he started to put on his new T-Shirt.

                “I’m _happy_ Gracie.” He fanned himself off briefly, the muscles in his tanned arms reacting to each motion he made. “I’m happy it’s my favorite girl’s birthday, and I get to spend an entire night with just her.” He then continued to put his shirt on, his pectoral muscles this time flexing as he pulled the shirt over his head.

                _He’s so sweet but hot at the same time…_ “Thank you again for what you did back on stage tonight,” she said quietly, adverting her eyes to keep her eyes from roaming his body. She had started at his arms but then somehow ended up looking at his chest, and her eyes were slowly going down his body, down his happy trail and down to the only part of his body she hadn’t seen naked yet. No matter how much time she spent with him, and no matter how many times she touched his body, Harry still got her to blush by doing the simplest things.

                “It was nothing.” He pushed his old shirt into his bag before zipping it back up and putting it on his shoulder. “I just… wanted to make things special today, you know? Just for you.” He gave her a smile before motioning for her to follow him out of the door and into the main hall.

                _You sure did make it special…_ “So is that why earlier you didn’t say anything about my birthday?”

                “That…” he trailed off, scratching behind his ear. He waved at a staff member as they headed out the back entrance towards one of the SUVs that would take them back to the hotel. “I’m sorry about that Gracie. I made you pretty upset, didn’t I?”

                _Well yeah…_ She followed him down the stairs and out the building, keeping close to him as several security guards and staff members milled about to protect the boys and to clean up after the show respectively. “I’m not going to even lie to you Harry, I was pretty pissed off at you. I thought you forgot!”

                “I’d _never_ forget anything that important.” He laughed a bit to himself as he led her over to his personal security and the SUV they’d be riding in. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

                “Well sometimes you do forget to pick up your dirty underwear from the bathroom floor-”

                “ _Besides_ that!” he cut her off, shooting her both a glare and an embarrassed look.

                They quit talking for a moment so they could get into the SUV and get situated. As soon as they were heading down a side street to take them away from main traffic Harry started up talking again.

                “But yeah… I’m sorry I made you mad earlier. Trust me, I wanted to tell you happy birthday earlier and do all sorts of things back at hotel but… I wanted to give you this huge surprise!” He turned towards her in the car to give her an excited look. “The boys and I had been working on it for a few days. We threw some ideas off of each other after I told them it was your birthday in a few days and we finally came up with that.”

                _God he’s so sweet…_ “It’s alright Harry, honestly. I couldn’t even thank you enough for what you actually did tonight. It means so much to me.”

                He shrugged. “The night’s still young babe.” He then turned around to face forward, a slight smile on his face as the SUV continued its slow drive back to the hotel.

                _If he’s this excited about my birthday… I wonder what he has in store later…_

* * *

 

                “So… are you hungry or anything?” Harry asked as he laid on his back in his hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling with his arms limply above his head.

                She sat down on her own bed after her shower. “We can order some of the hotel food when we come back. You said we get it for free right, since your management company pays for it anyway?”

                He nodded his head, finally looking over at her. He was wearing a comfortable cream colored button down tonight and the pair of jeans she bought him back in LA just before they went on tour together. She had never seen him wear them before, and she couldn’t help but to feel a little more special that he was wearing something she bought him on her special day. _Well he did wear the jeans we bought together last year at the concert today so that counts too. Two in one day… Harry really tried to make today special._

                “Are you hungry?” she asked, keeping her eyes focused on his face. She had noticed after his shower and just before she stepped in for hers, he looked a bit tired. _Who wouldn’t be tired after performing every other night though?_ She knew he wanted to get out and do things with her, but his health came before anything after what happened back in spring. She couldn’t possibly have Harry in the hospital again anytime soon for anything.

                “Not really. I can wait until then.” He sat up in bed, his long hair either falling behind him or in his face. “But… if you’re not hungry right now I think it’s time for us to sneak out.”

                “Sneak out?” She raised her eyebrows at him as he pushed his hair out of his face. _It’s not like we’re some high school couple sneaking out to go have sex; what is he talking about?_

                “Without letting the other guys or security know.” He winked at her before getting to his feet. “Come on, it’ll be fun!” He walked over to her, and held his hand out while she gave him a skeptical look.

                “I don’t know Harry.” She allowed him to help her to her feet. “Shouldn’t we at least tell your security we’re heading out so they won’t panic at you being gone?”

                “Well, what’s the fun in that?” He frowned as he released her hand to put his black boots on with the silver ring on the ankle. “They have me on a curfew,” he sighed after he got one boot on. “After I passed out last time management is trying to make sure we don’t have another _mistake_ like that happen again anytime soon. So even though Louis, Liam and Niall can get drunk off their asses, I’m stuck with being in by two in the morning.”

                _Ouch… It’s for a good cause but do they need to be that strict? It’s not like any of them are children anymore._ She put her shoes on as well, going for a comfortable pair of tennis shoes since Harry said they’d be walking around a lot tonight. “So what’s your plan?”

                “We run out the fire escape,” he laughed, pushing his hair out of his face yet again as he stood up to his full height. “Joking… but all we have to do is exit out of the stairs on the far side of the hall. They have been doing a piss poor job of monitoring it so we can get out that way.” Before Grace could even ask her question about what if his security team figured out they were gone Harry beat her to it. “And no they won’t think we’ve left. I’ll put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and they’ll automatically assume one thing.” He gave her a wink before she started to blush, knowing instantly what he was talking about. _Birthday sex._

                She agreed to his plan as soon as she got both of her shoes on and grabbed her purse, making sure she had everything just before they left his hotel room. Harry went out first before her, looking both ways first to make sure neither the other boys nor security were coming down the hall. Once he told her the coast was clear, they both were dashing down the hall like children while trying to hold in their laughter. Luckily for them, no one was monitoring the staircase like Harry had said, so they easily made their escape.

“Well _that_ was easy,” Harry laughed as he led her towards the main street, careful to not walk right in front of the hotel since security did patrol the front of it to kick out fans. “See? You’re _always_ safe with me.”

                “You flatter yourself too much.” She slipped her hand into his, causing him to smile down at her. “So now what are we doing next, Mr. Styles?”

                “Fuck you haven’t called me that since the very first day we met,” he laughed, glancing up the street at the oncoming traffic before leading her up the sidewalk. He then ignored her question, probably trying to surprise her yet again.

                _Yeah on the date you don’t even remember…_ She held a sigh in as she was reminded that Harry didn’t even remember that day. _Come on Grace, focus on positive things like how you’re about to have the night of your life with Harry._ “I’m taking you don’t like it?”

                “It’s so _proper_ ,” he laughed. “ _Harry_ is always just fine.”

                “You’re just like your mom.” Grace shook her head as she looked behind them, making sure a squad of men dressed in black or several girls weren’t running after them. When she confirmed that neither of them were after her and Harry, she turned back around to take in the sights around her.

                “When did you meet Mum?” Harry gave her a puzzled look when her eyes finally focused back on his face.

                “When you were in the hospital.” _Great so Harry has no idea his mom and I met so he has no idea that I know that he told her_ everything _about us, whatever that still means._ “It was the day after your accident. Zayn and I came back to check in on you and she was there.”

                “Oh…” Harry trailed off as they stopped at a busy intersection. Grace turned to look at him, checking for any signs of annoyance or irritation, but Harry kept his emotions concealed this time. As soon as it was safe for them to cross the street though, she didn’t miss the small smile that was forming on his lips.

                They walked in silence down the street after that, still hand in hand. Grace wondered what was going through his head in those few moments, but the next thing she knew he was leading her towards a small building whose lights were still on. She looked up at the sign to read where they were going, and couldn’t help but smile at the name. _Ben and Jerry’s._

                “So is this why you asked me if I was hungry earlier?” she asked when Harry held the door open for her.

                “Yes and no.” Harry stepped up to the empty counter with her to look at all the different flavors as he bent over slightly. “You know, you sure do ask _a lot_ of questions Gracie,” he laughed, glancing over at her.

                “Because you keep hiding things from me!” _You’ve been hiding_ a lot _from me recently_ , she couldn’t help but to think, but quickly pushed the negatively out of her mind. Tonight was her birthday night and she’d enjoy it.

                “You know, you’ll ruin all the surprises if you keep asking me things and wearing yourself out.”

                She sighed at him in mock annoyance, making him laugh at her until a worker appeared from a back room. “Hello! May I help you?” the worker asked in accented English, giving them a huge smile despite the fact it was going on midnight.

                “Just one moment!” Harry held his finger up to the worker as he still looked over each tub of ice cream. “Do you know what you want already Gracie?”

                She nodded before telling the worker her order. “One scoop of strawberry please. On a waffle cone.”

                “Are you kidding me?” Harry scoffed as he stood up to full height. “She’ll have two scoops of strawberry. I’ll have one scoop of pistachio, one coffee mocha fudge and one of regular chocolate, also on a waffle cone.” Grace frowned at him but before she could get her words out Harry beat her to it. “I already know what you’re doing,” he whispered harshly as the worker started to scoop their ice cream up.

                “What am I doing?” She faked innocence, only making Harry roll his eyes. _He’s like a little kid when he’s like this._

“You know I’m paying so you’re trying to buy the least amount possible. You always do this when we go out to eat and don’t split the bill. It’s _your_ birthday. Enjoy it, alright?”

                She nodded at him, actually feeling like he was scolding her this time. Here recently, she didn’t mind Harry paying for her things since they decided to become more even on who pays for what when they went out, but she felt it was rude to over-indulge on purchases when he was paying, no matter how much money he had.

                “Strawberry and pistachio coffee mocha fudge chocolate!” The worker shouted at them as he held their ice cream over the counter to them, his voice echoing off of the empty walls.

                _This kid has to be on a caffeine rush… There’s no one here but us and he’s screaming like its rush hour._ She couldn’t help but laugh a little as she took her ice cream from him, telling him thanks before she and Harry decided to eat their ice cream out on the patio.

                “They’ve got to close anyway so it’s better this way,” Harry commented as they sat across from one another on the small patio outside the shop. Even though the street was a little busy, Grace couldn’t be thankful enough that no one was stopping them for pictures or ruining this night.

                “Why’re they open this late anyway? Shouldn’t they have closed hours ago?” She took one lick off of her ice cream after her question. _This is pretty darn good…_

“Special arrangements.” Harry watched her as she did justice to her delicious ice cream, and it didn’t hit her until a few licks later that he was probably thinking about her licking something other than an ice cream cone with the way he was looking at her. _Well let’s hope tonight doesn’t get awkward after this…_

                “I… I called in earlier so they’d stay open later for us,” he admitted as he started to eat his own ice cream.

                “Thanks Harry,” she said quietly, biting down on some of the cone. The lengths he was going through for her today was crazy. Never in her life had anyone went through so much just to celebrate _her_ birthday. It was almost like this was a huge holiday to him.

                “Don’t mention it.” He smiled at her briefly, giving a long lick to the top most scoop of his ice cream with his bigger, longer tongue. Grace already knew Harry’s thoughts had gone south by watching her eat her ice cream by the look he had given her earlier, but she didn’t need hers to go down with him either. _He sure can put that tongue to good use those…_

                “So… about Mum and all… What did you guys end up talking about?” He asked her a few licks of his ice cream later. He returned his green eyes to her brown ones, seeming to try his hardest not to watch her ice cream.

                “You mostly.” She wiped her mouth briefly with a napkin. _Should I tell him that she told me what he said about me?_

                “Well that’s boring.” He gave her a joking smile. “She told you, didn’t she?”

                “Told me what?”

                “Told you what I said about you.”

                _How the heck does he do that?_ She let out a breath, finishing off her top scoop of ice cream. “How’d you know?”

                He shrugged, his eyes going back to watching her finish off her last scoop. “Mum’s never been good at keeping my secrets, especially when it comes to things like that.”

                “Can you explain to me what she meant by saying you told her _everything_?”

                “You’re sure asking a lot of questions tonight…” Harry chuckled at her before continuing. “Everything… meaning…” He paused for a bit, his cheeks slightly becoming flushed. “Well I told her about how we faked everything last summer and...”

                “And?” Grace raised her eyebrows at him, making him frown.

                “Let me finish maybe?” Harry snorted at her, faking his annoyance. “I don’t know… maybe that I well… I liked you more than I was saying.”

                _Yeah this completely sounds like we’re in high school._ She couldn’t help but to smile a bit as she finished off her ice cream, this time going for the cone. “You told your mom you had a crush on me?” she repeated, laughing a bit.

                “Don’t make fun of me.” He started blushing even harder as he looked away, focusing more on his ice cream than her. “She knew I liked you a lot so I had to admit it to her sooner or later. She wouldn’t stop nagging me about you when I went to go visit her.” He paused a bit, possibly thinking of other things his mom must’ve said about her before continuing. “She… likes you a lot Gracie.”

                She paused for a minute, making Harry look over at her in the brief moment of silence that followed. They talked about their parents every now and then, but nothing like this. _Well, minus the time Dad tried to rip Harry’s face off._ But then again she never told Harry really how much her dad didn’t like him to begin with, and she never told him about how her mom absolutely _adored_ him. To hear Harry say his mom liked her and they only had one conversation together said a lot to her. _Just what on earth has he been telling his mom to make her like me that much?_

                “What? Were you not expecting to hear that?” Harry cut through her thoughts, his eyes still curiously studying her face.

                “What… well… no?” She finished off her last bit of ice cream and the cone, letting out a sigh. “Your mom is an amazing woman, and she was very kind to me it’s just…”

                “Just?”

                “Can you let me finish?” she repeated the same words he had said to her earlier making him laugh a bit. “It’s just… I don’t know I didn’t expect it?”

                “What, did you think she’d hate you or something? You’re a very likeable person to be honest and I’m not just saying it because I’m your boyfriend or anything, so of course she’d like you.” Harry took a long lick off of his last remaining ice cream scoop and Grace knew it was on purpose by the way he winked at her afterwards. _I’m going to kill him later._

                “Thanks...” She tucked the wild strands of her hair behind her ear as she adverted her gaze from Harry. _Talking about his mom while he’s making sexual jokes is so awkward…_

                They fell into silence as Harry finished his ice cream off, his eyes trained on the buildings around them as they both sorted their own thoughts out. Just as her thoughts started to drift on what on earth Harry had planned next for both of them, he suddenly spoke up, “Ready for our next stop?”

                She nodded, standing to her feet to throw her dirty napkins away. Harry followed suit and she wanted to ask him so bad where they were going next, but she knew the older man wouldn’t tell her anything. He was so into surprising her it was kind of annoying, but also kind of cute at the same time.

                Harry instantly slipped his hand back into hers as they continued their walk down the street and for once they weren’t stopped by any fans or stared at. It was a nice feeling to finally just walk down the street like a normal couple, talking about this and that, and laughing at a few jokes without anyone interrupting them or taking unnecessary pictures.

                “…and so I told him,” Harry cleared his throat dramatically as he launched into his next joke of the evening. “If you lose your left arm your right arm will be left!”

                “Harry that’s not even funny,” Grace laughed anyway, leaning slightly against his arm.

                “But you laughed so it was!” He laughed with her quietly as they passed a group of people on the street. He then looked up, his eyebrows suddenly furrowing as he got very serious. “Oh well that’s weird… What’s that?”

                Grace looked up from laughing at Harry’s dry joke to find the very thing she had been wanting to see while in Paris was right in front of her, lights shining brightly as if beckoning her over. _How on earth did I not even see that while we were walking down the street? It’s so… Oh My God…_

                The Eiffel Tower was beautiful at night, lit up just like a Christmas tree as it stood like a beacon in front of a grassy area. It was way bigger than she thought it would be, and way prettier than she ever thought it would be.

                “Harry… it’s…” she struggled to find her words as she turned to face him when they stopped walking.

                “Happy Birthday Gracie,” he said quietly as he smiled down at her, squeezing her hand gently.

                “Oh my God Harry thank you so much!” She wrapped her arms around Harry’s neck in a hug, bringing him in close. Just earlier she was thinking she and Harry would never have time to come out here thanks to them having to fly out again to another city. She was thinking they’d miss out on an amazing opportunity to see such a great monument, but yet he had managed to squeeze this all into a day that contained a two hour flight, barely any sleep, and a show in the evening. _I really couldn’t ask for him to do anymore for me today!_

“You’re welcome,” he laughed into her hair, hugging her back with his fingers tracing imaginary patterns right above her hip bones. For a moment she felt his fingers run along her bare skin where her shirt had lifted up, but this time she didn’t mind. She knew Harry well enough that he wouldn’t do anything weird since he knew she didn’t like PDA.

                “But you’re going to be thanking me for a lot later,” he whispered as he pulled out of their hug, the smile still on his face. “Come on.” The words were barely past his lips, but she heard him loud and clear as he lead her towards the Eiffel Tower.

                “Where is everyone?” she asked quietly when they were under the tower and ready to head up the elevator. The only people she had seen so far were a few employees and a few police officers. _Shouldn’t it be more crowded a bit? Or are tours over with for the night?_

                Harry coughed a bit, looking like a shy little boy for a moment as the elevator door opened. “Tonight’s a special night for just the both of us.” He smiled at her before entering the elevator with her.

                _Did he call here too to tell them he wanted to reserve it tonight? He’s doing so much just for my birthday…_ She watched him curiously as the elevator door shut behind them. She knew Harry loved to shower her with gifts and surprises, a bit more than she wanted him to, but this was amazing. _A bit much, but amazing none the less._

                “You aren’t afraid of heights are you?” Harry asked a bit too late as he leaned on the wall of the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked a bit tired, but at the same time his eyes were bright with excitement.

                “No I’m not.” She watched the outside world as the elevator climbed higher and higher, not at all bothered by how high they’d be once they reached their destination. “Are you?”

                He shrugged. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me that,” he laughed nervously. “It’s not like I’ll freak out but… I don’t necessarily care for heights.”

                _So that explains why he hates flying and is scared of roller coasters. Yet he still brought me up here despite all of that… Just_ who _am I dating here?_ “Nothing’s wrong with that though. My mom is deathly afraid of heights.” She turned to face him and realized he was staring at her curiously. “What?” she asked, wondering why he was looking at her with such a serious yet intrigued look.

                “Oh… nothing at all.” He laughed quietly as the elevator slowed to a stop and deposited them out on the first observation deck. Grace wanted to go higher, but for the sake of Harry she’d stick with the lowest floor possible. Last thing she needed was for him to get sick or faint because she was being insensitive to his fears.

                Grace would have asked him what he was thinking, but the view from this level made her stop as she rushed towards the very edge of the viewing deck to look at the outside world. “Harry this is _beautiful_!”

                “Isn’t it?” He smiled at her as he leaned on one of the metal poles behind her, keeping his distance from the edge despite the nearly five foot fence around the platform to keep people from falling over. “It’s just as beautiful as you are.”

                “Harry please.” She laughed a bit, watching as the city twinkled in the not so far distance. He was quite the flatterer, but she wasn’t _that_ great to look at.

                “I mean it though.” She suddenly felt his arms wrap around her from behind, his chin resting comfortably on her shoulder as he leaned down just a bit. “All of this city… all of it’s wealth, all of it’s beauty… you’re worth way more than that to me.”

                _Since when did Harry get all poetic?_ She turned her head slightly to face him, almost bumping noses. “Harry…”

                “Just accept the damn compliment,” he laughed a little before going to nuzzle his face into the side of her neck. “Why’re you always like this? Why don’t you ever just accept things from me?”

                His question took her off guard as she kept looking out over the landscape, feeling his heartbeat against her back as he pressed himself against her. “I don’t know Harry… it’s just maybe because I never had anyone to say things like that to me?” It was true. Jake never told her things like this, he was too busy trying to force her into confessing she was in love with him only after a month of dating. Of course her parents would tell her she was beautiful because they were, well, her parents. She never had guys telling her she was beautiful left and right to her face with as much intensity and meaning as Harry did. It was something completely new to her, and would take a bit of adjusting.

                He hummed in her ear quietly at her response, his nose bumping her cheek before he pushed her hair out of the way to kiss her cheek. “Get used to it then because you completely deserve them.” He placed his hands on her waist, squeezing her hips lightly just like he had done back in her kitchen before planting a kiss right where her jaw met neck. He hadn’t kissed her there before, and it slightly tickled as he placed another kiss slightly further down.

                “I want you to close your eyes,” he said quietly after the kiss, his warm breath now tickling her ear.

                She obeyed without asking why this time, feeling his hands leave her waist and his body heat from her back disappear. Then within the next moment she felt something small but cool around her neck, just like last year before when they went out to Liam’s birthday party.

                “Alright, you can open them.” He clasped the jewelry behind her neck just before she opened her eyes, looking down to find a heart shaped pendant around her neck with her birth stone in the middle.

                “Harry this is…” she started but stopped herself when she almost said too much. _No it’s not too much. It’s what he wanted to get me and I should respect that._ “This is… beautiful,” she said instead, turning to face him with wide eyes. “Thank you so much…”

                “You’re welcome.” He blushed a bit but still kept eye contact with her. “It’s… I don’t know this is going to sound cheesy as hell, but I know sometimes it gets lonely when I can’t always be there for you because of tour or because I’m recording or because my life is _so_ busy so I…” He paused a bit, looking particularly embarrassed before he continued. “I just wanted to get you something that you could always have with you, like I’d want to be with you.

                “You may not think I have all the time in the world for you, and God you _know_ Gracie I want to spend as much time with you as possible but sometimes… that just doesn’t happen. And I’m sorry about all those times when I let you down, I’m sorry for those times I made you cry, and I’m sorry about everything you got put through by just being with me and by being my girlfriend. It’s hard, I know it, but you really honestly mean _so_ much to me and I’m _so_ glad we met. It may be hard to believe, but I have no idea where I’d be without you.”

                Grace stared at him in shock for a moment, taken completely by surprise he had launched into such a speech. _Had he really picked this out so carefully for… me? Since when did Harry Styles out of all people go through such an ordeal…_

                “Sorry I’m just… I’m sorry was that weird…?” he started rambling. He was so embarrassed now that she wasn’t responding to him that he was starting to turn red.

                _Why on earth would he think it’s weird? That was literally the cutest thing anyone has ever said to me._ “I couldn’t ask for anything more than you,” she said, stopping him as she wrapped her arms around him in another hug. “…Or that all you’ve done for me today Harry. Don’t apologize for anything, that wasn’t weird at all.”

                She stood there hugging him for who knows how long, but it had to be one of the best feelings in the world as they were finally at peace with one another. Harry was actually opening his heart to her. It was something he rarely did unless they were in moments like these, and she simply couldn’t ask for anything else in the world in this moment.

                “Happy birthday Gracie,” Harry muttered into her hair for what seemed like the thousandth time that night, and this time she could hear the smile in his voice. He had put so much work into today that she didn’t want him to feel any less than happy for what he had done.

                “Thank you Harry, for everything” she whispered back, pulling away briefly to give him a kiss on the lips. It was short and sweet, and all she wanted to end her birthday with her best friend and boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading guys!


	28. Trust (NSFW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update is here! This chapter is another long one and NSFW, so don't read this around your dog, your mom, or your grandma. Happy reading!

            Grace woke up the next morning later than usual, courtesy of Harry wanting to become adventurous last night. After enjoying the Eiffel Tower to its fullest, the two decided to head back in for the night. Grace wanted to see more of the city, but she knew both her and Harry’s rest was more important than wandering the streets at night. Besides, they had to fly out of Paris sooner or later to head to their next stop and the last thing she needed was for Harry to be extremely cranky because he wasn’t caught up on his rest.     

            Much to her surprise, they snuck back in the hotel successfully, neither caught by the other boys or security to only burst into a fit of laughter when they got back into their room.             

_“I thought your security was supposed to be the toughest security for any entertainer,” she laughed after she changed into her pajamas for the night. She had decided on a V-neck shirt with a cute cat on it and the matching pants for tonight since the hotel room was freezing._ At least I have Harry to keep me warm though.

_“Well, you get the inside scoop… we really don’t. At concerts they’re tight as hell, but hotels they aren’t_ too _strict on.” He shook his head as he took his cross necklace off, leaving him only in a pair of his boxer shorts as he placed the silver jewellery on his bedside table. He then climbed into bed, patting the other side with his palm._

_“Care to finish out this birthday night?”_

_Grace felt slightly intimidated at first, not quite knowing where he’d go with this. Did he just want to snuggle or did he have more than just cuddling on the mind? She knew Harry wouldn’t force her to do anything she wasn’t ready to do, but the thought of having sex with him right at this moment did deter her a bit.  It wasn’t that she didn’t think about having sex with Harry yet, oh, she thought about it a bit more than she should when she had her private moments, but she just didn’t want to give it up to him just quite yet. There was still so much he had to tell her and vice versa. They’d only been dating for nearly two months anyway and as much as she hated to admit it, what if they didn’t work out? Things were peachy keen right now, but what if his life got really busy and he couldn’t find time for her anymore? Or what if they figured out they just weren’t right for one another?_ Come on Grace, think positive. Harry said he’d always make time for you and you know he never breaks promises. He’d do everything in his power to keep us together and spend as much time as he could with me.

_Despite her thoughts and doubts, she did join him in bed, bringing the covers up close to her chin to beat the cold of the hotel room as he clicked the light off, plunging them into darkness. It took her eyes a while to adjust, but she found the light of the analog clock on the bedside table and the dim night lights from outside to be comforting. Pitch black darkness was something she never had liked sleeping in, even with Harry right beside her._

_There was silence for a while, making her wonder what on earth was going through his head. Was he contemplating or not if he wanted to touch her yet, or was he just drifting off to sleep? Whatever it was, she didn’t get to run through all the possibilities as the silence became too long and she started to drift off into sleep._

_“Did you enjoy today?” he asked quietly nearly when she had fallen off to sleep. She nodded, realizing he must be lying on his back from the way his voice was projecting upwards._

_“It was fun, Harry. Thanks again, for what? The hundredth time today?” She turned herself over to face him in the dim light of their room, just barely picking out the shadow of his nose and face. He laughed a bit._

_“Sounds about right,” were his last words before they fell into silence again. “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he whispered moments later, this time turning over to face her._

_He kissed her then in what she thought would be a brief kiss but instead he kept it going, his body scooting closer to hers on the cool sheets of the bed. She had no idea how he had even found her lips in the dark, but she didn’t care as she returned his kisses, her hands wandering to his tanned skin to run her fingers along his sides and eventually coming to a stop at his hips._

_Moments later she felt one of his hands travel up her thigh, stopping just inches below the curve of her ass just before he stopped kissing her. He didn’t say a word as he pulled her closer to his body, his boxer shorts rubbing against her upper thigh just before he attached his lips a bit lower than she anticipated._

_“Harry-” she started on instinct, not because she didn’t like what he was doing, but because she was surprised with both the way he was attacking her neck suddenly and the way he moved his hips against her thigh. She knew Harry was anything but small, but with the way he grinded his half hard cock against her thigh had her wondering just how big he could get._

_“Sorry… Am I moving too fast?” He immediately apologized, pulling back instantly._

_“No... It’s not that. I like what you’re doing, I just didn’t expect you to do_ that _.”_

_“Which_ that _?”_

_Grace groaned inwardly knowing that if she could see his face he would be smirking and she was in big trouble._ Here he goes trapping me into one of his questions again… _Not wanting to give him an ego boost, she went with the neck option._

_“I’m going to have hickeys in the morning because of you.”_

_“So?” He laughed quietly. “That’s the whole point babe.” He nipped the side of her neck gently, getting a shiver out of her._

_“But if you want me to stop… You know I always will.”_

_“No… keep going,” she said before she knew what she would be getting herself into. Like promised, Harry never did go further than she wanted him to, but he did turn it up a notch in what seemed like seconds later._

_“Would you be… comfortable doing something for me?” he asked quietly, his lips this time ghosting along where the skin was revealed on her chest by her low cutting pajama top._

_“What is it?” She watched him curiously in the minimal light they had as he climbed off of her to lay back down on his side beside her._

_“Can you… touch me?”_

_Grace knew that she had to be blushing the deepest shade of red possible at his next question. He was becoming bolder and bolder with his questions and actions, but this was something else._

_“We don’t have to go all the way, I know you don’t want to do that and we don’t have to at all. But can you just help me out a bit?”_

            How on earth does he know I don’t want to go all the way, _she thought for a moment._ He must’ve sensed I was a bit uncomfortable earlier when I didn’t want to get into the bed with him right away.

_“Yeah, I don’t want to have sex just yet,” she said bluntly, hoping he’d understand and wouldn’t get offended. She wouldn’t say it to his face, but she just didn’t trust him quite enough yet. He was so sweet and nice to her, but they needed to learn more about each other for a bit longer before that would be happening._

_“I completely understand.” She tried to pick up any signs of offensive or irritation in his voice but she found none. He sounded normal and completely understanding. “We don’t have to do this either if it’s too much.”_

_“This’ll be fine. I’m comfortable with it.” For reasons unknown, she agreed with his plea. She was already turned on enough with the way he was sucking on her neck and just feeling him against her thigh. Harry just wasn’t her boyfriend. He was also a best friend she trusted enough to do at least this with. Besides, she wouldn’t deny the man of his sexual needs tonight when hers were growing as well._

_Harry reacted slower than she thought, first going back to kiss her slowly before he took her hand and pressed it against the growing bulge in his boxers. He instructed her to pull him out slowly between kisses, bringing her bottom lip between his lips just like he had done earlier at his concert. She was distracted by the way he was kissing her, but she couldn’t help but to notice how different this part of his body felt than the others when she pulled it out. He was warmer than usual to the touch, and slightly harder than she thought he’d be._

_He guided her at first with his hand over hers, teaching her the right pace and that if she twisted her hand ever so slightly it felt even better. Then, he left her on her own, his tongue in her mouth as he moaned over and over again at her touches. She never expected to get this hot and heated on her birthday night, but the next thing she knew Harry was growling into the kisses just before he pulled back briefly to let out the most erotic noise she ever heard from him as he came. He kept moaning for her to not stop until he was done coming, turning her on even more despite how her upper hand and his inner thigh were now in a mess._

_“Fuck, you’re good. You’re so fucking good,” he half-breathed, half-whispered as he grabbed a few Kleenex’s from the bedside table to wipe himself off with and give to her. “You’re next… if you’re OK with that.”_

            After watching your face while you came I think I’m more than ok, _she wanted to say but simply nodded, realizing how tight she had kept her legs together the whole while Harry was giving her tongue and she was jerking him off. Just last year, she wanted to rip his face off. Now, they were in bed exploring each other’s bodies with completely newfound feelings. She could honestly say she never saw this coming in a million years._

_“I’m alright with it.”_

_He nodded at her, simply telling her to lay back before he slipped her panties off with one hand while propping himself up over her body with the other._

            _“Just relax, OK? Relaxation is key here,” he whispered into her ear before kissing her cheek._

            He must feel I’m tense… _She took a deep breath, trying to relax as he ran his free hand up her inner thigh, sending electricity up her spine. His touch was burning yet gentle as he pushed her legs open with his leg to give himself better access. She couldn’t help but tense up again. No one had ever touched her like this and as much as she did like it, it was a completely new experience to her that she needed to take slowly._

_Harry seemed to understand as he stopped for a moment. He kept her legs propped open with his own, but instead of continuing he pressed his lips back against hers again gently, whispering something she couldn’t quite pick up under his breath between kisses. She felt herself relaxing again instantly at his kisses while also trying to tell herself it would be alright. She_ could _trust Harry with this._

_Once he was sure she was ready to go on, he slipped his hand back down to her inner thigh before placing his middle finger right on the most sensitive part of her body. He kept the kisses going briefly, not at all seeming to be bothered when she nipped his bottom lip on accident when he first touched her. He pulled away for a moment to ask her how slow or fast she wanted him to go, and if she preferred for him to rub her in circles or up and down. Once he got a hang of what she wanted and what felt good, she felt like nothing on earth could feel better than the way he was touching her right now._

_“Is it alright if I do a bit more?” he asked moments later, switching from rubbing her with his middle finger to his thumb so he could press his index finger against her opening._

_“God, yes, Harry,” she breathed, half-high from the pleasure he was giving her. Despite how hazy she was feeling right now, she didn’t miss the smirk he gave her or the way his eyes looked into hers in that moment. She knew it was supposed to be a flirty sexy move, but despite the way his pink lips curled and the way his eyebrows were raised suggestively, she saw the sincerity and care in his eyes right then and there. It wasn’t a look he had given her before, but she knew she would remember it forever._

_“You’re so wet,” Harry muttered as he pushed one finger into her slowly. She had to admit, it felt weird at first, but once her body got adjusted to him, it felt absolutely amazing._

_“Let me know if you want me to stop at any time,” Harry said quietly before adding another finger after he was sure she was alright with just one._

_But she never told him to stop all the while he pleasured her, and even after he asked her if she’d rub herself while he fingered her. She never expected to let her best friend get her off like this, but the next thing she knew she was first whimpering his name and then yelling his name when he got her to come, hitting her spot just right with his long fingers while she rubbed her clit._

_“We should’ve done this at the same time, I’m pretty sure I’m hard again,” Harry laughed as he wiped his fingers off with another Kleenex. He then suddenly got up and went to the bathroom to grab a wet washcloth to wipe her off with before laying down beside her as she tried to catch her breath. She didn’t have enough energy in her to tell him his joke wasn’t funny, but he continued anyway,_

_“That’s one last present from me to the birthday girl.” He whispered one last happy birthday that night before kissing her cheek and snuggling her close to his bare chest._              

            It was anything but the cuddles she was expecting to receive from him last night, but at the same time, she didn’t mind at all. She had never went this far with any guy, but she knew she never wanted to go back either. He had been patient with her and seemed to actually care if she wanted to do what he wanted or not or if anything was hurting her. She didn’t expect Harry to be _this_ loving of a partner. She had expected him to be rougher and a bit more demanding, but she didn’t mind his absolutely sweet side in bed at all. And she certainly wouldn’t mind falling asleep with his warm naked body right beside hers.            

            “You’re finally awake?”             

            She turned over in bed to find Harry smiling at her from his position on her forgotten bed as he buttoned up one of his tropical shirts. _Is that a new shirt? I’ve never seen this one… with watermelons and bananas… When did he get that?_               

            “Why’re you up so early?” she asked, trying to hide her blush. Just looking at his face now made her think of how he had looked last night when he came all over himself and her hand…       

            “Early? It’s noon babe. If anything, we’re _late_.” He stood up to come over by her after he finished buttoning his shirt and ruffled her hair before sitting down beside her.           

            “Well, why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” She pushed his hand away but he grabbed her wrist, his fingers warm and soft against her arm. The last time he was touching her like this they were…              

            “Because you need your beauty rest.” He laughed at her frown. “Yesterday was a long day for the both of us and I wanted you to get some rest before we had to leave again.”              

            “Then you should’ve stayed in bed too.” She narrowed her eyes at him when he dropped her arm, going to push back random strands of hair that had fallen into his face. Harry knew that she was a bit concerned about his eating and sleeping habits, almost as if she were his mom, and she knew he would dive straight into a long dialog about how he was _fine_ doing things the way he did them.             

            “But we have to take separate showers and you know mine take the longest, unless you’re shaving or washing your hair. Besides, if I stayed in bed with you we’d have a round two of last night.”            

            Grace felt herself instantly turn red as Harry’s smile turned into a smirk. “You wouldn’t…”              

            “Don’t even lie to me. You _did_ like it.” He chuckled to himself for a bit before continuing. “So you’re more of the type to enjoy cuddling after sex?” He looked thoughtful for a moment, his eyes looking away from hers briefly before going back.

            “I never thought you’d be that way… Especially when you were trying to kill me last year if I even came within a fifty foot radius of you.”              

            “Well, things change, Harry.” She turned over on her back to let out a sigh, wishing he wouldn’t bring up last year and how much they hated each other’s guts after what they did last night. She didn’t mind the good times they had, but all the silly little arguments and fights they used to have could stay in the past for all she cared.

            “And yes… I guess I do enjoy waking up to see you next to me after something like that.”             

            “Did you think I left you or something?” Harry’s eyebrows raised up in shock before they furrowed again. “Gracie… if anything you _know_ I’d be right by your side if and when we do things this big. I wouldn’t have sex with you and then leave the next morning. That’s just not what kind of person I am.”            

_Yeah I know that Harry… You’re sweet, you’re kind, and you’re nothing less than a gentleman to me…_ She glanced over at him to notice he looked slightly hurt. _Did he think I really thought he was that bad of a guy? Uh oh…_

            “I know you wouldn’t, Harry,” she started in an attempt to make him feel better in any way she could. She wasn’t exactly an expert on making it up to him, but at least she’d try with the most honest approach she could.

            “You’re a great guy and… you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, honestly.”             

            A small smile tugged on the corners of his lips before he looked away in embarrassment, curling his socked feet against the uncomfortable hotel carpet. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me too, Gracie,” he said just barely above a whisper but she heard him loud and clear. He leaned down to briefly peck her forehead, lingering for a moment to look her in the eyes. She noticed then it was almost the same look he had given her last night, but before she could pinpoint every emotion in his green eyes, he was pulled away.              

            “So, do you want to tell me what we’re late to?” she asked quietly after he pulled away, loving the way he smelled this morning. _Is that a new body wash or did he switch up colognes?_

            “Get ready and you’ll find out,” he launched into one of his famous sayings for surprises before getting to his feet. “There’s no rush or anything though. Take your time but… hurry up.”             

            “That’s a huge contradiction.” She shook her head at him while he laughed at her. She then got up to walk over to her suitcase to find a pair of clothes that would complement Harry’s for the day. _I wonder what we’re going to do next…_

 

* * *

              

            Even though Harry was acting like they had a flight to catch or he had an appointment to get to, the very thing they were late to was just getting to a restaurant on time so they could order off the lunch menu. Grace couldn’t help but to shake her head and laugh a bit at him once she figured it out. _Typical Harry…_               

            When they had arrived at the restaurant Harry picked out, Grace was expecting either a long line of waiting customers, or some of his fans to pop out of nowhere to ask him to take pictures but neither of those things happened. Even when they were seated and all through their lunch, no one bothered them, stared at them, or took pictures of them. She felt like a load was being lifted off of her chest as she was allowed to just relax with him finally. Neither one of them had to be tense or uncomfortable while dining just in case a fan appeared out of nowhere to shove their phone into Harry’s face while he was trying to eat, or another would try and badmouth Grace right in her face and right in front of Harry. There was absolutely nothing to sour any of their moods and they could thankfully keep their high spirits from last night.

“Why are you staring off into space like that?”             

            At the sound of Harry’s voice, she stopped floating through her pleasant daydreams and was snapped back to reality as he stared at her with a curious expression from across the table. _I must’ve looked like an idiot staring off into space like that…_

            “Oh nothing…”              

            “I think it was _something_. It’s always something when you say it’s nothing.” He gave her a small smile before continuing. “What? Are you still thinking about last night?”              

_Why is he so embarrassing!?_ Grace couldn’t help but panic as Harry just laughed loudly, making a couple nearby turn to look at him. _And there’s kids here too… He is_ not _just going to sit up here and talk about sex right now._

            “No I’m not! Where did that come from? Are _you_ still thinking about it?”             

            “Woah! Temper, temper!” He laughed even louder, completely enjoying himself as always. “I was just playing with you but… yeah. Last night was _hot_.”              

_I’m not about to sit up here with him and play these little games…_ She let out a sigh as he still smirked at her.

            “I was just thinking about how nice it is that you and I get to come here and eat in peace for once. My thoughts were completely innocent, unlike yours.” She leaned back in her chair to cross her arms over her chest, still feeling like she’d die of embarrassment. The table next to them was so close she was sure that they probably heard and of course knew what Harry was talking about. _I pray to God these people aren’t secret fans and write up a report of Harry talking excitedly about the sex we did not have last night._             

            “Chill out! Chill out!” Harry was still laughing as he tried to catch his breath. Their waiter began to approach the table and Grace could’ve sworn he was going to chide them for being too loud, but he simply brought the check in which Grace said she’d treat today since Harry had treated her all her birthday.

            “But yeah, it is really nice. Just you and me…” He watched her sign her name and hand her credit card off to the waiter. He became strangely quiet before his next question as he leaned his elbow on the table to rest his chin on his hand.

            “Do you… Do you ever miss dating normal guys?” 

            “Where on earth did that question come from?” She gave him a puzzled look as the waiter walked away from the table. “You are a _normal_ guy Harry.”              

            “Yeah, but I mean without all the fans, and all the back and forth of my life.”             

_Where is he going with this?_

            “It’s honestly fine, Harry. It can get annoying, but I don’t mind. I like _you_ for you, and that’s all that matters. I wouldn’t care if you were the Prime Minister and barely had time for me, I’d still be here with you.”              

            He nodded his head slowly as if agreeing with her response. Before he could say more though, the waiter was returning with her credit card and it was time to go. Harry pulled his sunglasses over his eyes before they both stood up at the same time to leave with thankfully no pit stops along the way to his chauffeured SUV.              

            “So, why’d you ask me that back at the table?” Grace asked as soon as they were in his nice air conditioned car and it was traveling down the street. Harry had told her earlier that they would be heading out to the airport yet again after lunch, so she wanted to switch the focus on anything but flying for his sake. He shrugged as he put his phone down in his lap.

            “It was just in the moment I guess. I just… sometimes wonder how you feel about all _this_.” He paused for a moment to watch her face before realizing she had no idea what he meant. “ _This_ by like me being famous and all the fans, and just _everything_ that goes on with being with me. It’s no easy task to date me so I just thought of it.”              

            Grace wanted to make a joke on how dating him was difficult with all his jokes, embarrassing moments and immaturity at times, but she could tell he was pretty serious about this topic with the way he was looking at her and his posture. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings either so she’d keep the serious tone.

            “It was daunting at first, and it still is at times, but you know like we’ve always said, you can’t help who you fall in love with.” She paused for a bit as he bit his lip in thought. She was hoping she was saying the right thing because the last thing she wanted to do was set him off.

            “No one likes getting stalked. No one likes nasty things being said to them. Everyone just wants their own private time to enjoy with their friends and family, you know that more than I do by now, but it’s just a small sacrifice we both have to make. I don’t mind at all being with you, Harry, even though things do get messy and sometimes scary, but to answer your question from earlier, I don’t _miss_ anything. I just enjoy my time spent with you, doing the things both of us love.”              

            She didn’t mean to talk for so long but by the time she was done, Harry had a small smile on his face as if that was exactly what he wanted to hear.

            “You _really_ are something else,” he said quietly as he shook his head at her, letting out the lightest chuckle under his breath.             

            “Well what on earth is _that_ supposed to mean?” She laughed with him.              

            “Exactly what it’s always meant since day one. You’re something else.” His green eyes sparkled with happiness before he was turning away from her to presumably hide a blush. 

_If anything, you’re something else._ She looked away from him too to look out the window as the world of Paris slowly went by. Within just a few hours, she’d be on a plane and leaving this beautiful city behind, but never the memories she and Harry shared together.             

_But if anything… I love how open he’s being here recently,_ she couldn’t help but think as their moment of silence continued. Harry was never a closed off person. However, he was never an open book either. He let her into his life in bits and pieces at just the right times, never telling her more than she needed to know. Sometimes, he would leave her in the dark for a bit too long, and she absolutely hated it. But just like Zayn had said, she supposed that sometimes Harry just had his reasons for not telling her everything.              

_We’ve only known each other for exactly a year now._ She raised her eyebrows dramatically, looking at her reflection in the tinted glass window. _A year is a long time, but not a long enough time to tell someone everything about yourself._ She understood that Harry above anyone had to be careful with how much he shared considering his status, but she couldn’t feel a bit lucky that he was sharing so much with her. If she really wanted to, she could just break up with him, break his heart and go out spilling his secrets to hurt him further like his previous girlfriends had. But he was slowly trusting in her enough to know she wouldn’t do that to him. She just wasn’t that type of person and never would be if this didn’t work out, as much as she didn’t want to this about that. She’d never want to hurt Harry in that way after how kind he’d been to her after everything that happened between them and on top of that, he was her best friend. He came to her to vent about nearly everything that was causing him trouble, and she did the same with him. There was no way on earth she’d do such a cruel thing to him.             

_Still… there’s that_ one _thing he hasn’t told me yet._ She let out a sigh as she looked down into her lap at her purse. She had let it go after he promised he’d tell her when the time was right, but it was always in the back of her mind along with the identity of the person that kept spamming her phone back when she was LA. The calls had long stopped since she and Harry flew out of the country, but she couldn’t help but wonder what on earth was going on. _Maybe we should get them traced when we get back home…_

            Grace pushed the thoughts aside as the truck stopped at a red light, trying to think more positive thoughts on how last night Harry had basically told her he wasn’t as confident as everyone thought he was. She realized it a bit a while ago, how he wasn’t the smooth talker like she thought he would be or how he _always_ had a lady in bed. No, Harry was quite shy when it came to his feelings. He never confidently told her he liked her like she thought he would or swept her off her feet with some pickup lines. Instead, he showed her in the best way he could, which was lame to her, but at least he tried and they got somewhere finally. He very vaguely resembled the man he was portrayed as by the media. He was just a regular guy despite all the money, his status and the looks. He was adorably shy when it came to her sometimes, and more normal than any guy could be.            

            It wasn’t about his money or his looks. It was never about any of that to Grace and she hoped he knew that. She liked him for him. Nothing more and nothing less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I'd like to give a special thanks to Rhiannon for helping me out with this thing. ~~_High fives all around for the help._~~ I'll see you all next update!


	29. Harry Styles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update is here and it's another _really_ long one. You'll learn some more interesting things about your favorites this time, and there's a bit of a sad moment ~~but I promise you won't cry~~. Happy reading to you all and have a great weekend!

            After spending her birthday in Paris, Grace and Harry both flew out to London to rest up before the next few concerts. He had explained to her that they had several days off before the finale of the tour which consisted of several shows in London again in a row. He didn’t linger on the tour topic for long though. He was much more interested in the break side than anything.            

            “It’s just going to be you, me, and the hotel room.” Harry fell back into the only bed in the room in his loungewear, smiling up at the ceiling to himself as he talked. “We get to sleep in finally, eat whatever we want, and this time Louis or Liam won’t barge in at the worst moments.”             

            Grace couldn’t help but smile as well as she sat down closer to the head of the bed. She knew Harry loved his sleep and food, and sadly she couldn’t help but to agree with the part on Louis and Liam walking in at the least opportune moments too. Even though all the boys were young adults now, they still had their moments where they’d behave like children with either making a fool out of their own security guards or even ambushing poor Harry right before he could leave out of his hotel room by dumping an entire gallon sized bottle of Gatorade on him. They always said it was in good nature since they missed hanging out with him, but Harry had to think the complete opposite as he cussed them out in his deep voice and had the other two men scurrying back to their own rooms.              

            “What are they up to anyway?” She asked out of curiosity. After their flight into Madrid, she and Harry never flew with the other members again. Harry preferred to have quite a bit of time alone to himself to write things down in his journal or to just quietly talk to her about a new floral shirt he had his eyes on for a while. She could understand that the other boys were probably annoying to him but she did expect them to be a bit closer. The entire time she was on tour with them though, she was proved completely wrong. Then again, there were tons of things the guys did behind the scenes in tour season that she was taken by surprise as well.          

_Who can blame him though?_ She thought as she pushed the handle of her luggage down and put her purse on the bedside table. _Even I wouldn’t want to spend every waking hour of my life with my friends._                

            He shrugged, looking back up at her to meet her eyes. “Who knows? Liam went off somewhere with Sophia. Niall might head back to the States for some golf tournament and Louis will probably go clubbing back in LA and get himself into a hell of a lot of trouble. It’s the same thing with those guys. But enough about them. I want to know what you want to do later, or right now rather.”               

            “Aren’t you tired?” She laughed a bit when he flipped himself over on his stomach and his hair flopped in his face.

            “I’m always tired.” He laughed with her as if it was nothing new. Grace knew more than anyone that both Harry and the boys worked hard in everything they did from writing their own music, from putting on the greatest shows and even to treating all their fans with respect no matter how rude they were. She had no idea how they didn’t pass out from exhaustion with everything that went on but she couldn’t help but respect and appreciate the boys as musical artists even more after touring with them.

            “But we can’t stay in this boring hotel all day! Don’t you want another tour from the best tour guide ever?” He whined at her as he kicked his legs like a child.               

            “What’s on this tour’s agenda?” Grace smiled at him as she thought about the time they spent together in Paris. Still to this day, she still couldn’t believe Harry had been so nice and planned out an entire night for her. He had taken time out of his day when he could have been using to catch up on his sleep, but instead he took her around the whole city.              

            “Whatever you want, really. I’ve seen most of everything. There’s Big Ben and The London Eye for starters. We can even try the London buses if you want.”               

            “How much are the guided tours in this city?” She laid down on her back right in front of him as their conversation continued.               

            “Why would you want them to tour us when I could? They’re going to charge way too much and we’re going to get put in a group of people. I didn’t call in before so there’s no private tour and you know the last thing we need is to get mobbed while trying to enjoy ourselves.” He then paused after his sentence before suddenly getting a mischievous look on his face, letting Grace know she was in trouble. “But you know what?”              

            “What?” She glanced up at him as he propped himself up on his elbows to bring himself closer to her.               

            “They charge in pound but mine are practically free.” Grace frowned at him mid-sentence which caused him to laugh. “While they rake in all the quid, I only charge in kisses.” He leaned down to give her a quick unexpected peck on the lips. “One kiss for starters. And then two for every site we visit after that. Plus, there’s no hidden fees!”              

            “Oh, Harry stop it!” She laughed in surprise as he climbed on top of her. She didn’t mind his kisses at all, even though she tried to push him off at the moment. He was always good, smelled like peppermints and always made her want more, but she hated it when he took her by surprise.

            “You wouldn’t even want me to stop.” He grabbed her arm with one hand when she reached up to push his chest away. She thought he would just hold her there so he could continue his onslaught of kisses but instead, he flipped them both over to where he was on his back and she was on top of him. Once he had her straddling his lap, he leaned up to kiss her again. “You’d never want me to stop.”              

_Well you might be right about that…_ Instead of saying her thoughts out loud she began to protest. “The tour hasn’t even started yet!”               

            “It started as soon as we touched down in the airport. What are you talking about?” He continued to hold and kiss her through their laughter, only stopping when they were both out of breath.             

            “You’re so crazy, Harry,” She breathed, not at all bothered by the position they were in. She had sat on him like this before when Happy accidentally knocked him off his feet, and she couldn’t say she didn’t like it. In fact, she liked it a bit more than when he was on top of her in bed. From this angle, she could truly see how handsome he was. How his hair framed his face but also flowed out behind him. She could also see the excitement and happiness in his green eyes for once, and honestly the feeling of him under her and the way his chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath turned her on.

_Come on Grace, not now. I know you want to rip his clothes off but not yet_. She told herself as Harry still collected himself. She knew above anything that he wanted her too, but she really wanted to still wait before they took things a step further. She didn’t want to move too fast with him, and in the back of her mind she was still scared that he may not be serious about her. Yeah, she knew he loved spending time with her, but she really wanted her first time to be special with someone she was a hundred percent sure wanted to have a meaningful long-term relationship with her too.               

            “You haven’t seen anything yet.” Harry’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He gave her a devilish smile once he caught his breath. And once again she knew he would say something outrageous. “Do you like the view up there or something? You’re turning _really_ red.”              

_Damn it Harry…_ “Be quiet, Styles.” She muttered as she tried to climb off of him in embarrassment. Harry usually ignored her when she checked him out but unfortunately for her, he had to say something today.               

            “Styles?” He raised his eyebrows at her as he grabbed her hips to keep her in place on him. “Are you still planning on having my last name? We could make that happen, you know.”

_He’s really something else today..._  “Don’t be ridiculous, Harry! No one said anything about your last name!”              

            “You did just a moment ago.” He raised his eyebrows at her as he squeezed her hips. “Didn’t you?” He asked but before she could answer, he continued. “And you were also just thinking about how sexy it would be to ride me just a moment ago, weren’t you?”               

            “I… I did not!” She started to blush a deeper red under his gaze. _He did_ not _just say that! Where did that come from suddenly?_ Harry was really good at picking out her moods but he couldn’t possibly be a mind reader.

            “Why do you have to be so embarrassing?” She muttered under her breath more to herself, but he heard her anyway.              

            “It’s not embarrassing, it’s completely normal to think and talk about these things. Remember we’re _dating_.”               

_This is just like last year._ The way he said dating almost made her want to cringe. She let out a sigh as she put her hands over his.

            “Well maybe it’s normal for you, but it isn’t for me.” She had never gotten to the stage of discussing or even thinking about sex with Jake, and even with Harry, these types of things embarrassed her because they were so new to her. She never had gone this far with a guy before, yet Harry had been with countless women. He was the expert at all of this, and she was the embarrassed beginner.             

            He paused for a moment as he studied her face before letting out a sigh as well. He must’ve realized he said something wrong because he launched into an apology. “I’m sorry, Gracie… I didn’t mean it like that. You know I didn’t.”              

            “Yeah… I know that.” She released one of his hands to playfully push the remaining hair out of his face. She didn’t want to sour this moment between them but it would still be a sensitive topic to her. For a while at least.               

            Harry seemed surprised at first, but his initial look of shock turned into a small smile as he pulled his hands away from her waist. She knew he was expecting her to yell at him but she really wanted to change that. Harry was very kind to her and they didn’t need any more fights.

            “You’re still something else Gracie.”

            “So are you.” She laid down beside him, finally getting a chance to stretch out. As comfortable as Harry’s private jets were, nothing beat a warm soft bed.              

            “So… what do you want to do later?” He asked again in the moment of silence that fell between them.              

_Still pushing the question…_  She shrugged as she studied his profile in the late morning light. He hadn’t shaven since his last show in Paris two days ago and she could already see the hair rapidly growing back. She never did quite like a clean shave on Harry though. Just a little bit of stubble for her to feel when she touched his face or kissed him was good enough for her.

            “Why don’t you just take me to your favorite places? I have no idea what London has to offer really.”            

            “And you’re the one that’s supposed to like the British boy band,” He laughed, turning his head slightly to face her. “But alright, if that’s what you want, we can head out a little later after we get some rest. Sound good?”              

            She nodded her head in a yes. “Do you want me to set an alarm in case you oversleep?”               

            “ _Me_ oversleeping? It’s always _you_ ,” He emphasized with a laugh, knowing too well _he_ was always the one who was knocked out sleep for hours on end after a long flight. “I think it’s important we get our rest though, so no. If we oversleep well… we’ll figure something out then.”              

            “Sounds good to me then.” She gave him a smile before climbing up to the head of the bed to lay her head on one of the pillows. He joined her shortly after he got up to go to the bathroom and returned, snuggling up with her as usual as they both drifted off into a much needed slumber.

* * *

                           

            “Hey, Gracie, wake up!”              

            Grace opened her eyes slowly to be greeted by Harry peering down at her as he stood by the side of the bed fully dressed. Unlike Harry, she wasn’t a very heavy sleeper and responded more quickly than him.

            “What’s the matter, Harry?” She muttered as she closed her eyes again.              

            “Nothing’s the matter. It’s just, it’s getting late and if you sleep any longer, we won’t have time to go out and do anything.”              

            Grace buried her face into the pillow for a moment as she tried to wake up. She breathed in the familiar scent of the hotel room before letting out a sigh. _I was sleeping so good too…It’s best though that I get up now or I’ll be up all night while Harry’s sleeping._ “Give me forty minutes and I’ll be ready,” she said into the pillow.             

            “What? Give me fucking ingots and I’ll be bready?” Harry laughed loudly above her.            

            “I said give me some time and I’ll be ready!” She held her head up as she talked this time to make sure Harry got the words right. Even though he was slightly annoying her right now, she was still glad he was in the same happy playful mood he was in earlier. Harry literally turned into a zombie behind the scenes after too many concerts in a row and she hated spending hours on end in the hotel room listening to his snoring while she tried to read. Sometimes she’d go out to the pool while he was sleeping or hangout with Louis on occasion but nothing compared to hitting the city with Harry.            

            “Alright, alright!” He still laughed as she turned over to glare at him. “You know, you should really try waking up happier. It’ll make you feel better.”             

            “You’re one to talk.” She sat up in bed slowly before swinging her legs out over the side and stepping out beside Harry.             

            “I’m plenty of happy when I wake up with you beside me.” He winked at her before hopping onto the bed to lay down himself. “Just let me know when we’re done and we’ll be on our way.”

_I swear this is a completely different man than I met before_. She watched his backside briefly before heading over to her luggage to grab a fresh change of clothes. She had no idea what Harry had in mind but she’d pick a comfortable and warm yet cute outfit. The last thing she needed was to wear a pretty expensive shirt and get it ruined by ice cream.              

_I wonder what he’s got planned for today?_ She asked herself as soon as she got out of the shower and checked herself in the mirror. Harry always picked out fun things to do in whatever city they were in when she was uncertain on what to do. There were just so many things to do in London now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure where he’d take her.             

_He doesn’t have his security this time so it’s got to be somewhere without a lot of people._ She put her fresh clothes on for the day and finished getting dressed by putting on the heart-shaped necklace Harry had given to her on her birthday. She hadn’t noticed it at first but on the back of the necklace, he had gotten _Gracie_ engraved on it. She wondered why he never told her about it on the night he had given it to her. Perhaps he wanted it to be a surprise.               

_How can I ever make any of this up to him_? She thought as she emerged from the bathroom. He was always giving her nice little presents and always made her day. She did things for him in return but she just never felt like it was enough with how good he had been to her ever since the very beginning, but especially since they started dating. Despite her worries before, he was a great boyfriend and proved her previous misconceptions about him wrong time and time again. As he would always say to her, Harry was something else.            

            After putting her old clothes into the dirty laundry bag given to them by the hotel, she looked up to find that Harry was still lying on the bed on his stomach. This time though, he was using her phone for something she couldn’t see from her position.             

_Odd… Harry always asks before he uses my stuff._ “Hey Harry, what’re you up to?” She asked as she put the bag by her luggage.              

            “Someone called your phone several times so I answered it.” He didn’t turn over to face her when she approached the bed and sat down beside him as he scrolled through her call log. “And before you get all huffy, no, it wasn’t any of your friends or parents. It was that unknown number person you were telling me about a while ago.”             

            “I haven’t had a call from them in ages… not since we left LA actually…” She trailed off as she went deep into thought. Neither her or Harry ever got the calls traced as the number of times the mysterious person called did dwindle down and then had turned into nothing when they left the States. She thought maybe now they had found someone else better to harass but now she wasn’t so sure.             

            “Yeah, well, they’re back and it’s a guy.” Harry let out a sigh as he finally turned to face her.             

            “They actually said something?!”             

            He nodded his head as he placed her phone down in front of him.

            “Yeah. I picked it up and they asked if this was your phone. I didn’t answer and just asked who they were and they just told me to not worry about it and hung up while laughing.” He ran his fingers through his hair in an exasperated gesture as he picked himself up off the bed and sat down beside his girlfriend.

            “Gracie, we really need to get this number traced. I don’t like this at all. The idea of some guy going out of his way to stalk you like this makes me sick.”

            “Yeah… we do. It wasn’t Chester, was it?” She asked as she clasped her hands together in her lap. She hadn’t heard any news on that creep since the fight in her apartment but she still had her suspicions it was him.             

            “No, forget about him. This guy was American.” Harry grabbed her phone from behind him to hand to her. Before she could take it from him, he pulled it just out of reach. She looked up at him in question but he just kept talking. “As soon as today’s over with we’re getting this traced, alright? I don’t care if you think it’s a waste of money, _I_ don’t want this person calling you anymore and if I have to fill out some paperwork or something, then so be it. If they call you again any time between then, you let me handle it, alright?”              

            She nodded her head when she saw how serious he looked as she took her phone from him finally. Harry had always done an amazing job of looking out for her and protecting her but she had never seen him so serious about her before.               

            “Now with that out of the way… let’s have some fun.” He suddenly smiled at her as he stood to his feet and patted her shoulder. “I don’t think we can go to too many places today since it is getting late but I know you’ll love this. Even more than the Eiffel Tower maybe.” He talked excitedly as he put his favorite pair of brown ankle boots on.             

_Just like Harry to go from one mood to another so quickly…_ “I don’t think anything can beat the Eiffel Tower.” She laughed as she went to run her fingers over the necklace. She was sure she was developing a habit in the short time. It was in her possession with the way she’d hold it sometimes or look down at it. It was such a pretty necklace and she still couldn’t believe Harry had gotten her something so nice.             

            “Are you saying that because you liked the tower or were my kisses just that great?” He watched her put her shoes on with a small smirk on his face.              

            “I’m saying it because you put together such a good night.” She stood up to her full height to meet his eyes. She would’ve gotten snappy with him but she just didn’t feel it in her at this moment.            

            “You’re not yelling at me… this is weird.” He laughed quietly as he shook his head and looked away from her briefly. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” He put his hand to her forehead as if checking her temperature.

            “Of course I’m alright!” She grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand off of her. “Are you sure _you’re_ OK?”             

            “What do you mean by that? I’m perfectly fine as well.” He lowered his head just a bit to give her a seductive smile, his green eyes catching the light behind her. If looks could kill, he would’ve killed her right then with the way his curly brown hair swept into his face and his pink lips pulled into a smile.

            “You’re the one acting weird.”

_I swear…_ She looked away from him as she felt herself turning even redder. Why did he have to be this way? _And why do I want to kiss him all of a sudden?_ “You’re being flirter than usual.” She said as she tried to keep her voice level and even.             

            “I’m _always_ like this. What are you talking about?” He leaned on the wall behind him and gave her a quick up and down look, much like the one he had given her when they first met. “You know, you’re really cute when you look at me like that and get all flustered. I’ve never seen a girl your complexion turn so red.”            

_He’s doing this on purpose…!_ “Harry stop playing games.” She started to walk ahead towards the hotel door to hide her face. He had always gotten a kick out of messing with her ever since the beginning but this was simply too much for her right now!         

            “It wasn’t a game, you really are cute.” He laughed as he followed behind her. “Has no one ever told you that either?”             

            “Well… no.” Grace answered honestly as they left their hotel room and headed for the elevators. She still got nervous when she and Harry went out in public but here recently, they hadn’t been chased by paps and even his fans hadn’t been around. She was hoping that today would be the same, that they could just enjoy the rest of the day without any interruptions.              

            “Hmmm,” he hummed as he looked her over until the elevator arrived. He said nothing more as they stepped into the empty elevator together. He muttered something under his breath that sounded like _interesting_ but Grace couldn’t quite pick up on it as the elevator closed and carried them down to ground floor.              

            “Lucky you, we’re going to be taking the buses today,” Harry said as soon as they stepped out of the elevator and headed outside. He slipped his hand into hers as he glanced behind them briefly to make sure no fans were running up to him to take pictures. When he found that the coast was clear, he turned back around and led her towards the nearest bus stop.           

            “Are you ok with that?” She asked as they waited for the red double decker bus to show up.             

            “I should be asking you that.” He smiled at her as he squeezed her hand. “I don’t know… Even if people do recognize me and stuff happens, I have to enjoy my life, right? And do the things I want to do… You have to enjoy it as well and not let things like that stop you.”             

            She raised her eyebrows at him, surprised he was saying such things. He was right but no one enjoyed getting mobbed or having their fans thrust their camera phones right into their faces. She just didn’t want them to climb onto a bus and for someone to recognize them in such a tight space. It would literally be a disaster.              

            “Yeah, you’re right.” She agreed quietly as a cool breeze blew across the area, whipping both of their hair along with it. “I just don’t want either of us to get hurt though.”              

            “Nothing will happen.” He gave her another reassuring smile. “In the UK, the fans are pretty proper. And as always, I’m always here to protect you.”              

            She returned the smile just before she caught sight of the red bus speeding around the corner.  “You know I’ve always got your back too, right?”             

            “Of course!” He raised his eyebrows in exaggeration. “After you kicked me in the balls that one time, I’m pretty sure you can handle most of anything.”             

_Oh My God, he still remembers that…_ Grace bit her lip as she looked away from him, suddenly feeling bad. _Well, of course he’d remember Grace. You kicked him hard enough that he should be concerned about ever having children. Both of us should be thankful it’s still working after that._ “Listen Harry I’m sorry about that…”             

            “Don’t sweat it.” He let out a sigh. “It was an accident and even though my testicles will remember it forever, I’ve completely forgiven you up here…” He stopped mid-sentence to point at his head with his free hand. “… not down there.”              

_Thank God he didn’t grab his dick in public._ “So how do we ride this thing?” Grace asked to change the conversation as the bus slowly approached.           

            “You just let me do all the work.” Harr half-laughed and she knew he was being lewd again.

            “Not in _that_ way!” She growled at him under her breath as another couple walked by.

            “It’s the same premise. Don’t worry, I can show you later.” He nudged her arm just as the bus slowed to a stop in front of them.         

            “What am I going to do with you?” She asked herself as Harry walked onto the bus first to pay the fare for them both. He then led her to the empty upper level of the bus. Luckily for them, the only few people on the bus were downstairs.              

            “Now isn’t this nice?” Harry asked as he sat down beside her as the bus took off down the street. “Didn’t think you’d be riding in one of these any time soon, did you?”              

            She shook her head no as she looked over the railing and at the landscape out and below. Soon, their hotel was nothing but a speck behind them and they were heading towards grandiose buildings with beautiful architecture. Grace had always wanted to go out of the country but she didn’t think it would be possible until she went back to school again, landed a very stable and profitable job and then could scrape some money together with her future boyfriend. Never in a million years did she expect to be zooming down the streets of London at the age of twenty-two.              

_Well, at least the boyfriend part is in place_. She smiled to herself as she looked up at the tall grey stone buildings looming over them. It was nothing like the sleek black and grey skyscrapers in New York. These buildings had their own sense of style and self that had her gaping.              

            “My face looked just like yours when I came here for the first time.” Harry laughed at her as he watched her. “You probably already know this but I came from a really small town. Nothing like this at all so I was like _wow_.”             

            “And now look at you, you’re touring all over the world.” She looked away from the buildings briefly to smile at him. Even though he was her boyfriend, she was still proud of him as a fan as well and how far he had come with his other bandmates.              

            “Yep.” He rubbed at his nose and glanced out at the city as the bus came to a stop at a red light. “So we never really talked about this but… where are you from originally? Have you always lived in L.A.?”              

            “I was born in New York.” She finally turned to face them so they could have a decent conversation. Now that she thought about it, she and Harry didn’t ever talk about their deep family past or beginnings despite everything else they talked about.

            “I moved out to Cali with my parents back in high school and then I moved to L.A, about…” She stopped to mentally count back to the year she moved to the big city. “Two and or three years ago.”              

            “Really?” Harry looked surprised as he sat more wide legged in his seat. “Well… I guess your accent is a bit different than the people back in L.A… Why’d you move?”              

            “At the time, my dad got a better job out there than in New York.” She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “I still can’t believe he took the offer to this day.”              

            “Why?” Harry seemed interested in her story as he leaned in to her a bit.             

            “Because who wants to live out in the middle of the desert. It’s like… moving from Chicago to Kansas in the middle of nowhere! I know you haven’t seen my parents’ house before but they literally live in a dustbowl with their new dog and our horse.” She kicked the seat leg in front of her gently with the toe of her tennis shoe. “L,A, is fine and all, no offense to you, but you know I still miss home and always will.”              

            “No offense taken.” He looked up as the bus finally moved forward again from its stationary position at the long red light. “And I understand how you feel. I love L.A, but it’s nothing like being back at home with your family. Do… Do you and your parents get along well?”              

            She nodded. “Yeah we’re all super close.” She paused for a minute, making Harry look at her curiously as she thought about whether or not she should tell him everything about her family, even personal matters. She let out a breath as she decided to just go ahead and tell him. She felt like they were close enough now she could tell him a bit more about herself and above all, she did truly trust him in some aspects.

            “We weren’t all that close to begin with but when my younger sister passed away, my mom _really_ invested everything she had into me since she was too sad to have any other children.” Grace looked down at the ground as she let out a small half-smile. “Then my dad became even _more_ overprotective of me. It was a pain in the ass to go anywhere with friends in high school or even if he thought a guy liked me, he wanted to strangle him.”              

            “Oh… I’m sorry.” Harry frowned a bit as he still watched her face. “I’m sorry about your sister.”              

            “Don’t be sorry really. She was stillborn so… yeah.” Grace stopped talking as she let out another sigh. She rarely told people about it and in a way, she had blocked the memories from herself as well. She didn’t even know her sister but it still made her sad to think about she could’ve had someone to grow up with, to play with, to rely on and do girly things with. _I don’t want to think about this right now…_ To prevent them from falling into an awkward silence she asked Harry about his family. “Do you get along well with your family?”              

            “They’re great. We all get along pretty well. My mum, sister and I are super close and even though you know, my mum and dad split, I still do see and talk to him often. I have a bit of an extended family too but we don’t talk much. It’s usually just me, Mum and Gemma.” He paused for a while before continuing. “You know, since you’ve already met Mum, you’re going to have to meet Gemma one day. I think you two will really like each other.”              

            Grace raised her eyebrows at him as the bus took a turn and came to a halt at another stop. “Will we? Why do you say that?”              

            “She always likes _little brother’s_ friends.” Harry rolled his eyes but smiled at her afterwards. “Gemma likes to tease me a lot and all but we get along quite well. She thinks I’m the best younger brother anyone could have. Well… when I’m not eating her food or pissing her off.”              

            Grace couldn’t help but to laugh a little. She could only just imagine what Harry put his sister through. “Well you are a great guy, and I’m just not saying it because you’re my boyfriend.” She repeated the same words he had said to her earlier back in Paris.                          

            “Thanks.” Harry stretched for a bit as the bus pulled off again and continued its journey down the street. “But you know, like your Dad is all protective of you Gemma is super protective about me. She’s always snooping into what I’m doing and texting me little things.”              

            “That’s what a great sister does.” _I wonder if he’s ever talked to her about me? Does she like me like his mom does or does she just not care? What if she hates every woman Harry dates because she thinks he’s too good for them? What if she hates **me**?               _

            He shrugged. “She’s good enough, I guess.” He started chewing on his nails. “So, you have friends still up in New York?”              

            She nodded. “Yeah! We lost contact over the years but I’m sure if I gave them a ring, we’d hook right back up.”             

            “Nice! Nice…” Harry nodded back at her before getting this faraway look in his eyes. “Maybe you and I could go up there together one day, you know?” He turned to look at her again. “I’ve always liked New York, even though they get tons of snow and it's bloody freezing sometimes. And those fucking crazy taxi drivers! The city’s wild, I’ll tell you that.”

            Grace couldn’t help but to laugh at Harry’s description of the city. “Yeah, it is that… And yeah, maybe we can.” She agreed with him, even though after this tour, she wanted nothing more than to go back to her own apartment and rest. She loved Harry and all but she never thought she’d be spending nearly every waking moment with a guy she’d only been dating for two months.              

            Harry returned the smile but said nothing more, allowing them both to fall into the comfortable silence they always had between conversations. Grace loved it since it allowed her to finally sort her thoughts out and have a peace of mind, and she assumed Harry was the same. She had expected him to talk her ears off, and sometimes he did, but he was quieter than she thought he’d be before they met which was a relief.              

            Several minutes later Harry was telling her the bus was arriving at their stop and they could finally get on with their day. The bus ride wasn’t long, but after looking at building after building, Grace became quite bored.              

            “Do you know where we’re going yet?” He asked as they walked down the sidewalk and towards their next location.             

            “No idea!” She bumped her shoulder with his upper arm. “Are you going to tell me or still keep me in the dark?” Just as the words were out of her mouth she noticed a large sign up ahead that read ZSL London Zoo.              

            “Harry… really?” She asked as she turned to him. He knew she _loved_ animals, ever since they had a conversation on why she worked at a dog biscuit company.              

            “Yes, really.” He laughed at her as they approached the admission booth. “You really get excited over these things…”             

            “Well _yeah_. I love learning about animals!” _And I love spending time with you doing our favorite things…_              

            “Told you you’d like it.” He said as they fell into the shortest line. Luckily, they only had to wait for a few minutes before they were paying the admission fee and on their way to enjoy observing the many animals.              

            “So, what’s your favorite animal?” Harry asked her twenty minutes into their date as he leaned on a wooden fence that kept guests from getting too close to the camels.            

            “Hmm… probably the tiger.” She looked away from one of the camels staring at someone’s child to look at Harry. “What’s yours?”             

            “The turtle.” He said calmly but for some reason Grace found it funny. “What?” he asked as he smiled a bit at her quiet laughter.              

            “Oh nothing. It’s just funny we have such a contrast in animals.”          

            “Well you’re really aggressive like a tiger. I’m more like the turtle. I’m milder.”            

_Really Harry?_ She narrowed her eyes at him. “You mild? Who was the one that went partying _every single night_ in one week last year and came home _way_ past the wee morning hours? And I’m not aggressive!”              

            “I was drinking and dancing away my problems, don’t judge me! And you are too! You’re yelling at me again right now! That’s pretty damn aggressive.”              

            “I’m not _yelling_ I’m proving a point!” She let out a sigh as she turned away from him. She knew he was just joking, and that this was all fun and games but it did irritate her just a bit.             

            “I think it’s yelling if you get everyone _including_ the camel’s attention,” Harry muttered as he nodded out to the camel paddock. Grace followed his gaze to find that indeed several of the camels were staring at them.             

_Please don’t spit at us._ “Let’s go.” She whispered to Harry as she turned away, not wanting to make the camels upset any further or attract any more attention. She did have to agree with him though, they were loud. It wasn’t just her though. Harry’s loud laugh carried and was sure to turn heads when he was really enjoying himself.             

            “We can head over to the tigers if you want and then hit the turtles. Then, we can just hang out until the sun goes down, get us some cotton candy or something.” Harry showed her the map of the entire zoo as he spoke.              

            “But the turtles are closer to us. We should see them first then loop over to the tigers. Then we can see how much time we have left.”              

            “Sounds like a plan.” He smiled at her as he closed the map and started to head down a different path.

            Their whole visit at the zoo was peaceful and calm as Harry checked out the turtles and they visited other animals along the way to the tigers. It wasn’t until then things got way out of hand.

“He’s so pretty, isn’t he?” Grace gushed as the tiger lay asleep atop one of the many tree branches in his enclosure.             

            “He’s so pretty and _asleep_.” Harry muttered as he stared up at the big cat as well. “The cats are so lazy. They never do a damn thing.”

               “Well probably because they’re cooped up in those cages that are way too small for them.” Grace let out a sigh as the tiger flicked his ear at a pesky insect or perhaps hearing their voices. “Poor baby. Can you imagine being taken from your home to be an attraction on display? It’s one thing for animals to be in a zoo for conservation, but not like this.”              

            “I totally agree.” Harry shifted his weight onto his other leg causing his shoulder to bump hers. “I really do love seeing the animals and all, but they should be out in the wild where they belong.”              

            Grace nodded and opened her mouth to say something more until she was interrupted by unexpected screaming.              

            “HARRY IS HERE! OH MY GOD! CAN YOU BELIEVE HARRY STYLES IS HERE!!”             

_You’ve got to be kidding me…_ Grace let out a long breath as she and Harry exchanged looks. She knew they were thinking that same thing in that moment just before a girl latched herself onto Harry’s side.              

            “Harry, I’m your biggest fan! I can’t believe I just bumped into you out here like this! Can my friends and I have a picture with you?!”             

_Yeah conveniently bumped into him all right._ Grace raised her eyebrows at him before turning away to let him cater towards his fans. She was used to this, waiting for him to take a picture with his fans while they were on a date or autographing something for them so this was no big deal. It was just the fact the girl invaded his space without his permission, cut them off in the middle of their conversation and appeared to have stalked them both was what bothered her. Yeah, she knew chance encounters happened but with the way this girl was saying it with such a fake voice let her know she had most definitely stalked them.

            “Yeah, yeah, of course,” Harry muttered as he barely stepped away from Grace before the girl snaked her arm around his waist. He clearly looked uncomfortable as she snapped one shot and then her friends came to join.            

            “Can you… can you smile more in the picture?” A tall skinny girl with red hair asked. “Like… you know?” She rolled her eyes at him for a bit before leaning back into his side.                       

_How rude…_ Grace turned away from watching the tiger rest to catch the girl’s behavior. She didn’t understand at all how some of these girls called themselves fans but treated Harry and the other boys like this. She would never in her wildest dreams talk to any of them like that if she met them in public.             

            “Alright, you’re welcome girls,” Harry said when they finally stopped taking pictures with him. He started to head back over to Grace but a short Asian girl grabbed his wrist.            

            “Can you autograph our stuff, please?”  

_I swear…_ Grace leaned on the wooden railing as she watched both Harry and the three girls. She expected him to say yes like he always did, but this time things changed.              

            “Girls, I’ve taken countless pictures with you, I think that’s enough. I’ve got to get going soon,” He said calmly but this only sent the girls into a frenzy.              

_Wrong move_ , Grace couldn’t help but think as she bit her lip. Harry hardly ever spoke up for himself in situations like this but when he finally did, hell had to break loose.              

            “What do you mean you _have to get going_?” The very first girl that approached him asked in a naggy voice. “We’re your fans!”              

            “Yes, girls, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me and the other lads. You’ve given us all an incredible six years with all your efforts and support. We couldn’t tell you thank you enough for all you’ve done for us, but I’ve really got to go.”             

            “Why? Don’t you love us?” The redhead asked, venom leaking out of her voice with every word. “Or are you going to do the same to us like you did to Natasha?”             

            “Yeah, are you?” The very first blonde girl asked. “Are you going to lie to us that you love us and then leave us all behind? You’re going to leave One Direction, aren’t you? Just like that traitor… that asshole Zayn!”

            “What? No?” Harry looked confused. “You guys know we’re here to stay-”              

            “Is that what you tell every woman you’ve been with? Just a bunch of lies to keep them with you?” The Asian girl with a round face put her hands on her hips as she sneered at him.   “You’re a fucking liar, you know that right? How _could_ you treat your fans like this? Don’t you know how much you owe us?”              

_This is getting way out of hand… Just who are these people and what is this all about Natasha? Never mind her though…  Didn’t these girls just say they were fans two seconds ago?_ Grace wanted to step in and intervene but she knew she’d make the situation worse with the way this was going. Those girls would literally shred her to pieces, and possibly Harry when they were done with her. _These are the girls he’s always warned me about… The ones Liam told me about too, that say they love them then turn around and do this mess._

            “Alright…” Harry said quietly as he looked away from them and started to walk away. He just barely looked at Grace but she knew what he meant. He wanted her to move away from the girls too but not walk right beside him so they wouldn’t pick up that she was there with him. He knew this situation was going to get explosive if they saw her with him too, and that couldn’t happen on any of their watches.              

_Please don’t let them see… Please don’t let them notice._ Grace knew her face was all over the magazines, newspapers and internet so if these girls looked hard enough they would notice her. She tried to keep her head turned towards the side with her face downcast but she had a constant dread in the pit of her stomach that this wouldn’t work. These were crazy die-hard fans that probably knew more about Harry than he knew about himself.              

            “Are you _seriously_ walking away from us? God….! We said sign our stuff!”              

_And he said no_. Grace kept herself turned towards the side as she pretended to read the tiger’s information on a plaque as she continued to move away.              

            “Wait a minute…” The round faced girl growled. “That bitch… isn’t that his new girlfriend?! That Grace slut!”              

_Great…_ Grace let out a sigh as she turned to go along the side of the tiger’s enclosure but the next thing she knew she heard heavy footsteps of the girls running after her.              

            “Hey, hey, hey!” Harry’s voice was suddenly behind her as he cut the girls off. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

            “You’re on a date with her? Aren’t you?” One of the girls sobbed before she started screaming, “She’s _so_ ugly! Why are you with her!? Why didn’t you stay with Natasha?! She was perfect and beautiful and blonde! Why did you cheat on her? Why did you go back to _her!_ She is literally a nobody! Why would you date her when you could have someone like… me!”              

_What are these people talking about?_ Grace turned around briefly to look at the three girls and she swore the three of them had sprouted devil horns and wings with the way they were glaring at her. They wanted to literally _kill_ her for dating Harry.              

            The round faced Asian girl took in a deep breath as she glared at her and narrowed her eyes. “Harry doesn’t even love you. You’d _never_ replace Natasha in trillions of years.” She then turned to Harry to give him the same look. “If we can’t have you, then no one can.” She screamed right into Harry’s face before trying to push him aside.              

_If I say anything this’ll make this worse…_ Grace sucked in air through her mouth as she looked around them. Several people had stopped to stare and were whispering amongst themselves as Harry tried to hold off angry high school girls. She _had_ to think of something though. _But there’s nothing I can do in this situation…_

_This is so bad._ She honestly felt like crying as she considered her options. She couldn’t just stand here while one of the girls was pulling Harry’s hair and the others were yelling vile things at him. She had heard stories from Harry and sometimes the other guys about crazy fans, but nothing like this.              

_I’m going to have to get out of here but I can’t leave Harry. Maybe I can get security or something._ Those were her last thoughts as the Asian girl wiggled past Harry and grabbed a rock from the base of the tiger’s enclosure to throw at her. Luckily, the rock missed Grace and bounced off the tiger’s cage but things went from bad to worse when the girl decided she’d try a more physical approach.

            Grace had no idea what to do next besides run but the next thing she knew, she felt something heavy fall behind her and a deep rumbling noise from inside the cage. She turned around and moved her head out of the way just in time as the awoken tiger snarled and reached his massive paws outside of the metal bars. His roars were deafening as Grace crouched down as low as she could and covered her ears as he swiped a few times outside the cage, just narrowly missing the approaching girl’s face.              

            Time seemed to slow down for a few seconds to Grace as the tiger stood up on his back paws behind her and let out one final roar, his claws emitting a screeching noise as they slid down the cage. _He literally just saved me there… A damn tiger saved me…_ She thought when she heard screaming from the girls and the sound of footsteps fading.             

            “We’ve got an assault reported!” She heard someone yell, making her open her eyes and look up to find a security guard chasing the three girls down.              

_Jesus Christ…_ She couldn’t help but be bewildered at all of the events that just happened as the tiger still snarled angrily right above her head. She heard him hiss one last time before he hopefully walked to the back of his cage to take his anger out on something else.             

            “Grace… Grace! Are you alright?” Harry was suddenly in front of her as he crouched down to her level. “Fuck, I’m so so _so_ sorry. Are you OK?”

            “I’m fine. What about you? Are you OK?” she asked slowly as she looked him over. If anything, she should be more worried about him than herself in this moment.

            “Yeah… I’m alright.”             

            Grace knew immediately he was lying, not by the way his expensive shirt was torn at the shoulder or the way his hair was all out of place, but by the way he looked so sad. It was only a few times she had seen him this way, but it honestly nearly broke her heart. She had never seen him _this_ sad. _Even when I called him those awful things I did last year he never looked this bad._               

_No, you not._ Grace wanted to say but she knew that would cause a fight and Harry was a sensitive guy. She felt like crying earlier but right then, she knew she couldn’t. Harry _needed_ her more than she needed him in this moment, and she had to be strong for him.             

_We need to get out of here and fast before he loses it…_ She glanced up at an approaching security guard. “Is everything alright?” he asked as he looked at them both on the ground after making sure the tiger wasn’t still hanging around the front of its cage. “We had a report there was a fight breaking out over here along with some vulgar language.”              

            “Yeah… Some girls just came up and started harassing us.” Grace said, knowing Harry wasn’t in the mood to talk.              

            “Would you like to press charges? We caught them and have them up at the entrance of the zoo.”              

            Grace looked over at Harry to meet his eyes. If it was her, she would’ve pressed charges but it was completely up to him this time. They were the ones that physically and emotionally harassed him. Yeah, they had called her ugly, but that was nothing new to her at this rate. It hurt her of course, but Harry was the real one in need right now.              

            “Yeah, I would.” He said loud enough for the man to hear, taking Grace by surprise. She expected him to say no since they were his fans but this time around he must’ve not cared or it was that serious to him. She couldn’t blame him though.             

            “OK.” The guard nodded his head. “I’ll get in contact with their parents and we’ll handle it from there. Can we have your contact information please?”              

            Harry rambled off his information to the guard before the man took his leave to head to the front of the zoo.              

            “Come on let’s get you home,” Grace muttered as she helped him to his feet when the man was gone. She caught sight of several people still hanging around and a few had their phones out taking pictures or recording.              

            “This isn’t the zoo.” She whispered to herself as she wrapped her arms around Harry’s waist to support him. “Why do they treat him like he’s some animal?”              

            They remained silent as they left the zoo and took a taxi back to the hotel. Harry didn’t talk again until later when they both were in their pajamas back in the hotel room.             

            “Why do they treat me like this?” He asked just barely above a whisper. “Do you know how it feels to give your _all_ into something and then you have the people that say they love you treat you like shit?”              

_Oh, crap, he’s not going to have a meltdown, is he?_ Grace bit her lip as she sat up in bed beside him. She had never seen Harry cry before but it looked like he might right now. “I can imagine it hurts.”              

            “It hurts like _hell._ ” He let out a sigh. “Yeah, they’re just fans but it _hurts_ , Gracie. It hurts so bad.”              

            She didn’t know what to say as he rested his head on her shoulder and let out another long breath. Instead, she just wrapped her arm around his shoulder and rubbed it gently. It was all she could do for him. Yeah, she knew what it felt like when she was back in high school and people used to say rude cruel things to her. She could only imagine what it felt like to have people to yell at her and hurt her like this though…

“I work so many hours. I put _so_ much time into writing those lyrics. I put so much effort into making the concerts as best as they could possibly be. Hitting all the notes and being interactive… You know, I still get nervous as hell before some shows but I fight it off. You know how it is, how we barely get any sleep. How we eat whatever is the fastest because we’re always going somewhere and doing something and we basically live in hotels and those damn planes. Breaks are never _breaks_. It’s always, record this, rehearse that, then when you do get a _real_ break it turns into _this_.” He took a long pause after his rant before continuing. “I’m so sorry, Gracie.”            

            “Shhh it’s alright, baby. Don’t apologize. None of this is your fault.” She rarely called Harry _baby_ but she knew he liked it by the way his eyes would light up or the way he twitched under her touch just now. She wasn’t the best at making him feel better but she had to try at least. “Just let it all out.”             

            “You know, I always wanted to be that type of guy where nothing gets to me. Where I’m like you… You don’t give a shit about what people say, you just keep on staying with me no matter what they say and ignore the bullshit.”              

            His words took her by complete surprise. _He really thinks that about me? I’ve cried in front of him about the same type of thing though! Well, not recently but still!_ “Well, it hurts me too, Harry. Just like it hurts you.” She listened to him sniff and wipe at his nose. _He’s not crying, is he? Don’t cry… They’re really not worth the tears…_ “But you’ve got to remember those aren’t your true fans. No one would treat you like that if they respected you and all that you do.”              

            “Yeah…” He adjusted his head on her shoulder as they fell into a brief moment of silence. “I’m sorry you have to see me like this.” Harry whispered after a while as she continued to rub his shoulder.              

            “It’s fine, Harry. You’re human too and have feelings.” _I’ll admit it is different seeing you like this but it isn’t bad at all._               

            “Just for one day, no… for the rest of my life, I just wish I could go places and do things without things like this happening. I don’t mind the extra attention of a fan maybe wanting a few things but I can’t do this anymore. I just _can’t._ This isn’t some new thing today. It’s been going on before I even met you and I’m not going to have you deal with it either.”              

            Grace sat there quietly as she moved up to run her fingers through his hair. She wasn’t sure if his scalp was sensitive from the girls pulling his hair but he did not flinch at her touch as she continued to stroke his hair. _Just how much has he been going through where he just snapped like this?_               

            They fell into another moment of silence, letting them both collect their thoughts. After everything that happened, Grace still couldn’t believe any of it. She felt horrible about it and she could only imagine how Harry must’ve felt.              

            “Can you just… lay with me for tonight?” He asked quietly to break the silence as he lifted his head off of her.             

_That’s what I’m here for…_ She nodded at him as he pulled the sheets back on their bed and snuggled up under them. She followed suit and wrapped her arms around him like he had always done to her all those times when she was down. First, she kissed his forehead, but then moved down to give him a light kiss on the lips that somehow sent electricity all through her body. He kissed her back gently as well but shied away on the next kiss to press his forehead against hers instead. When her eyes met his, she saw all the sadness in them just like she had seen it back at the zoo. And in those eyes, she could see he was completely and utterly done.              

_They broke him…_ She rubbed his back affectionately as she closed her eyes to kiss him again, whispering over his lips that everything would be OK and he wasn’t anything the girls said he was. Once upon a time, she thought she’d be the only one to be held by him close in bed and to cry about something that really hurt her. But the tables flipped that night as she hugged him closer and let him let it all out.              

            In all that time that she held him that night, she couldn’t help but to think of everything so far just before she drifted off to sleep. She had known Harry for over a year now and he was anything but what she thought he would be and what the magazines made him up to be. That was a different Harry Styles. This was a Harry Styles that always cheered her up when she felt down, that was nice to all of his fans, friends and family, and just wanted to see the good in everything and everyone no matter what. He wasn’t the pothead, he wasn’t the womanizer, he wasn’t a habitual liar, and he wasn’t some perfect little angel either… He wasn’t any of those things people called him or made him out to be. He was just a twenty-two year old man that was just as human as anyone.              

            To Grace that was the real Harry Styles. The man no one else saw but her, his friends and his family. He was her Harry. The man she would always be there for. And that’s all that mattered to her that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question that hangs over our heads now is if Grace is able to fix her broken boyfriend. Stayed tuned for the next update to find out!
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Much apologizes for the spread apart updates, but now it's summer so they'll come out a little bit faster. Thank you for your patience, thank you so much for your support, and I'll see you all next update!


	30. Pool Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update is here and shorter than last time. In this update you'll learn some more things about your favorites. Have a great weekend and happy reading!

_“Do you remember the time, when we fell in love…?”_

                Grace frowned in her sleep as a familiar melody registered in her ears through the walls of the hotel room. _Who on earth is playing their music so loud at this hour? It’s got to be five in the morning._ She begrudgingly opened her eyes to find Harry asleep in his same grey t-shirt as last night beside her as their neighbors downstairs continued to have what sounded like a Michael Jackson karaoke party.

_You’ve got to be kidding me._ She groaned inwardly as she blinked again, trying to decide if whether she wanted to wake up or simply bury her face deep into the plush white hotel pillow. She picked the latter but with time, she found that burying her face into her pillow would not block out the loud music, so she decided it would just be better to wake up. As soon as she picked her thoughts out though, the song abruptly ended, and she and Harry’s hotel room was once again blanketed with silence.

_Nice timing._ She let out a sigh as she picked her head up from her pillow to face Harry again. He was a heavy sleeper so of course, he slept through the entire ordeal. She could remember he fell asleep before her but she wondered in that time she held him last night if he would stay asleep. Sometimes when he was in a really bad mood, he’d wake up in the middle of the night to sit by himself in another room and just think. But apparently, not last night.

_I hope he’ll feel better about everything when he wakes up._ She thought as she watched the rise and fall of his body as he breathed in his sleep. She always found Harry to be cuter when he was asleep and not asking her pesky questions or being way too playful for her taste sometimes. On top of that, he wasn’t the type to be a wild sleeper like she thought. He stayed in place for most of the night with either his arm around her or tucked up against his chest. Last night, he had fallen asleep facing her but this time, she had kept her arm around his waist.

                “How did I end up with you?” Grace whispered as she reached out to push his hair away from his cheek. He didn’t even flinch at her touch. He just simply continued to snore lightly with his mouth half open.

_Lucky for me, you’re a heavy sleeper._ She smiled to herself before turning to check the time on the clock sitting on the bedside table. __10:34 AM.__

                “Plenty of time.” She eased herself out of bed and headed for the bathroom to freshen up for the day before Harry woke up and could hog the bathroom. She and Harry usually didn’t sleep in so late when he was on tour like this, but last night was another story. She knew Harry needed all the sleep he could get and on top of that, Grace wanted to surprise him with something relaxing to do for the day. He needed to take his mind off of everything that happened yesterday before the boy’s next tour date started. She hated seeing Harry moping around so she’d try to get him in the best mood possible, even if was the last thing she’d ever do on this tour with him.

                Grace hadn’t really planned anything extravagant for him but she had a few ideas in mind she made up overnight right before she snuck out to go to the store. She ran through her list of ideas in her head as she rummaged through her suitcase quietly for her clothes for the day. Seeing that Harry was still knocked out sleep, she placed her clothes on the table the TV was sitting on before grabbing her phone and turning it on to check for any new messages.

                As soon as the screen loaded, the same notifications came up about apps needing to be updated or a few missed calls from various random numbers. What got her attention though was the excessive amount of new messages she had.

_Oh no, what happened…?_ She returned to sitting on her side of the bed with her phone as she opened her messaging to find both Liam and Zayn had texted her something along with her mom. Of course, her mom’s message took up at least five of the ones counted for in her notification bar but she was still shocked to have so many.

_Must’ve been because of last night… That’s got to be all over the news by now._ Grace tried to brace herself as she took in a big gulp of air before opening Liam’s message first but she felt like nothing could help with what she’d read. _Come on, it won’t be bad. You and the guys, minus Niall, get along well._

**_******Hey Grace how’s it going? I saw the news on you and Harry… Is everything alright? Are you both ok?** _**

_****We’re fine. I think Harry was a bit shaken up by it but everything will be alright.** ** _

She hit send on her message before opening Zayn’s up next. She hadn’t spoken to Zayn in ages, even though she still needed to interrogate him on why on earth he set her and Harry up. It was a bit surprising to her he would be texting her instead of Harry but it just showed he still cared about her.

**_******Hey babe are you and Harry alright? I’ve seen you two all over the news and it’s crazy! Call me when you get this, ok?**_ **

                Just when she was about to reply back to his text that she couldn’t call him just yet, her phone vibrated in her hand before displaying a brand new notification for messaging. Grace bit her lip when she saw the familiar name _Lou_ followed by a preview of his text. Louis hardly ever texted her ever since she and Harry had gotten back together. He was still more of Harry’s friend than hers and it made her wonder why he wasn’t texting Harry either instead of her.

                “I’m sure he has his reasons.” She muttered under her breath before opening his long message.

**_******Grace! I don’t know if you still have my number or not but this is Louis! I’ve seen you and Harold all over the fucking London news. What the hell happened? I can’t get a hold of him on his phone so please let me know if everything’s alright.**_ **

__Well that explains why they’re all texting me and not Harry.__ She knew Harry had his phone off ever since last night by the way it wasn’t ringing or vibrating what felt like every ten minutes. His phone was always busy and she would’ve known if he had it on. Plus, he hadn’t touched the damn thing since he threw it on the sofa last night.

_I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so many messages from these guys at once…_ She let out a sigh as she tried to put her thoughts together. She knew the guys were concerned but at the same time she just didn’t feel like talking about yesterday’s events to anyone. She wanted to block it out of her memory. _But Harry’s not going to want to talk to anyone today either… I told Liam we were fine so maybe he can just tell the others that we’re ok._

                “Hmm… Why’re you up already without me?” A sudden raspy morning voice asked from behind her.

                Grace turned to find Harry sitting behind her way closer than she expected. At first, he just leaned in to rest his chin on her shoulder but when he turned to give her a peck on the lips, she stopped him.

                “Harry, you know we don’t do morning kisses.” Grace half-laughed as she nudged him away. He hadn’t really tried to kiss her before right after they woke up so this was completely new. Either way, she didn’t want to kiss him with his morning breath.

                “Yeah but today’s different.” He half-whined. “You know, last night was a bunch of dog shit. Can’t you at least give me _one_ morning kiss?”

                “After you brush your teeth.” She told him again firmly before turning away. _At least he’s in a better mood this morning though. A grouchy Harry is no fun at all._

                “You’re such a jerk.” Harry muttered under his breath before dramatically throwing the blankets down to the foot of the bed and stumbling off to the bathroom.

                “You don’t mean that!” Grace yelled after him as she briefly watched him go. His long hair was in upheaval since he didn’t tie it up last night and the way his shoulders slouched briefly let Grace know he wasn’t his normal self at all this morning.  She let out a sigh before looking back down at her phone to check the messages her mom had sent her. She had no idea if it was about Harry and her, or if it was about a new baking recipe she wanted to share but her mom came first before the other members of One Direction. She’d get back to them eventually on Harry’s status after she finished this and had a chance to finally think everything out.

**_******Grace, dear, is everything ok? I saw some news on you and Harry. Something about assault? Call-**_ **

                Grace barely got a chance to read half of the message before Harry was emerging from the bathroom and heading her way. She did expect him to kiss her this time, but she didn’t expect the surprising full-on kiss that had her dropping her phone on the floor.

                “Harry… what are you-” She started when he pushed her down on the bed so he could climb on top of her.

                “I’m getting my morning kiss.” He gave her a smile but she caught right away that it didn’t carry to his eyes as usual. He was still hurt from last night.

                Before she could say another word, his lips were back on hers, completely dominating her as he rested himself between her legs. She anticipated him to be a bit more aggressive with his kisses considering his mood but he didn’t bite her. He didn’t kiss her harder than he needed to where it would hurt her. He went about it just like every other time he kissed her and as always, left her completely breathless.

                “Is that minty fresh enough for you?” He laughed quietly as his hair fell into his face.

                “Yeah, it is.” Grace said in an equally as quiet tone while she pushed his hair back. She would have loved to get smart with him, maybe tease him a little, but she wasn’t sure how he’d take it this morning.

                “How are you feeling this morning?”

                He shrugged as he rolled off of her to lie on his back by her side.

                “Still like shit.”               

                “Well, we-”

                “Look, Gracie… Can we not talk about it?” He let out a long sigh before looking over at her.

                “Sorry… I just really don’t want to think about it at all. I’m going to have to see it all over the news anyway. I bet Twitter is just __blowing up__ and so is every other news agency. I can just see it now: _Harry Styles gets beat up by high school girls while trying to enjoy a day at the zoo with his girlfriend.”_

_Poor baby…_ She bit her lip when he turned away from her to focus his eyes on the ceiling. She knew that she had to make him feel better. And sitting around in the hotel all day wouldn’t help him at all. He’d get bored and then resort to using Twitter which would only piss him off or he’d turn on the TV and somehow he’d be all over CNN. She had to get him out of this room but at the same time, away from the public eye.

                “Do you want breakfast?” Grace asked even though he seemed to be a bit snippy. If anything would make him feel better, she knew her cooking would.

                “Yeah…” He agreed. Harry just couldn’t turn down food no matter what.

                “Are you ordering or are we going to go down to the buffet?”

                “Better than that.” She sat up as he gave her a curious look.

                “I’m making it.” She ruffled his hair and headed over to the small kitchenette area of their hotel room.

                “Do we even have things like pancake mix here?” Harry asked as he too sat up in the bed.

                “I don’t think food like that ever comes with our hotel packages.”

                “While you were sleeping, I went out and got some things.” Grace said happily as she pulled out a new box of pancake mix from the cabinet. It was true. She had done a dash to one of the 24/7 convenient stores shortly after he had fallen asleep to grab some last minute items for today.

                “Woah, wait, _why_ didn’t you tell me? You know it’s dangerous out there with this going on.”

_Does this not sound familiar?_ Grace let out a sigh as she reached up on her tiptoes to try and reach a measuring cup sitting on the topmost shelf of the cabinet.

                “Harry, this isn’t 2015 anymore where you whine about keeping me safe. It’s 2016! I can go out if I want to!”

                “That’s not the point.” He sighed as he walked over to help her.

                “I don’t care about you going out or anything like last year. You can go out and do whatever you want but I just want to make sure you’re __safe__.” Harry emphasized as one of his hands grazed her waist, sending a cold shiver down her spine. He then reached up to grab the measuring cup for her.

                “Above all, I don’t want anything happening to my Gracie while I’m around.”

                She wanted to argue with him but with the way he hugged her from behind after putting the cup down on the cabinet and buried his face into the side of her neck made her stop. _Why is he being so needy this morning?_ Grace couldn’t help but think as he kissed her right where her jaw met her neck. It wasn’t like him to beg for morning kisses at all. He’d usually just go straight to the bathroom after he woke up and made sure he got at least one kiss in before they left the hotel or his place. Even now, he had __never__ grabbed her from behind to hold her.

                “Thank you Harry,” she said quietly as she held his hands.

                “No, _thank you_ ,” he whispered into her ear. “Thanks for… Thanks for listening to me last night and everything. I’m really sorry you had to see me like that.”

                “It’s nothing, Harry. It’s what I’m here for.” She smiled even though she knew he couldn’t see it. Hearing he was grateful when she was around made her happy. And the more he opened up about himself and told her things, the more she began to think he was indeed maybe serious about her. She never was the type of person to look into her favorite celebrity’s personal dating life but she knew for one thing, Harry’s relationships never lasted for whatever the reasons were. She had to admit, she was a bit scared theirs may not last either but he had at least pulled off two months with her and it didn’t look like it was ending any time soon. He trusted her with a lot of his problems and that was something huge to her.

                “Yeah…” Harry laughed quietly into her hair before kissing her on the cheek lightly.

                “I know that more than anything. But, thank you babe.” He held her for just a few more moments before he started to pull away, making her instantly miss the warmth on her back and the way he felt against her.

                “I’ll let you cook now. The food isn’t going to cook itself.”

                “You can help you know. It’ll be fun.” She turned around to smile at him, finding their faces were way closer than she thought. _I could just kiss him right now…_

                “I don’t think we’ll get the result we’re aiming for,” he laughed, his eyes going from hers to linger on her lips.

_Yeah he wants to kiss me too._

                “If you stay focused, we will.”

                “Why just me?” His green eyes flickered back up to her brown ones.

                “Because you’re always the one goofing off!”

                “I am not!” He made a face at her that got her laughing.

                “Yeah, you are, Harry.” She turned away from him to prepare the forgotten pancake mix.

                “Well… you goof off with me so it’s even.” He ran his hand across her lower back before heading to the refrigerator.

                “Do we have bacon? Or sausages by the way?”

               “Upper shelf on the right!”

               “Oh… you’re really good…” He smiled to himself as he pulled out the small pack of sausage links.

                “How much _did_ you buy?”

                “Just enough for a few days since this is __home__ for at least a week.” Grace left out the part that she had bought something else as well while she was out but she was sure Harry would be pleasantly surprised by it later.

                “Yeah… _home_.” Harry sighed for the umpteenth time that morning as he leaned down to rummage through the lower cabinet for a skillet.

_Uh oh, he’s picking up on a mood swing again._

                “Do you ever get tired from basically you know, living in hotels?” Grace asked in the moment of silence that followed. She didn’t want Harry to get too quiet on her and go back into thinking about yesterday.

                She saw him shrug out of the corner of her eye as he put several sausages in the pan.

                “That’s just what it is when you have a career like mine and you have to live with that.” He looked over at her briefly as he began to close the Ziploc on the sausage bag.

                “Of course I miss my bed back at home in L.A., even the one here in England with my mum. Nothing beats your own home, you know?”

                She nodded in understanding as she poured the first batch of pancake mix into another heated skillet on the stove.

                “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

                “Do you like this kind of stuff? I mean like… hopping with me from place to place, plane after plane, one hotel to another?”

                “I like the traveling part.” Grace answered honestly as she sat the measuring cup back down on the cabinet. She turned to face him to find he was giving her a serious expression. _He’s doing that mind reading thing again…_

                “It’s fun to hang out with you, and see what you and the other guys do behind the scenes but like you said, nothing beats home.”

                He hummed at her answer before turning away to tend to the sausage. She raised her eyebrows and turned away from him to look across their hotel room. Yeah, Grace _did_ miss home but she wouldn’t say that to him right now. He’d think she hated being on tour with him and that wasn’t it at all. She enjoyed her time with the boys but she really did miss snuggling up with Harry in his bed back in L.A. where everything was familiar.

                “Well, I’m kinda tired of it.” Harry said quietly, almost more to himself as he flipped each sausage over with care.

_Crap he’s in a shit mood again…_ She bit her lip as she watched the cooking pancakes bubble on the top, letting her know they were ready to be flipped over as well.

                “It’ll all be over soon, Harry. Then we can head back to L.A. and enjoy the rest of the year.”

                “Yeah. It will be over soon.” He muttered as he turned the eye on the stove, making sure the sausages were on before heading over to the refrigerator to put the sausage package away.

_What does he mean by that?_ Grace watched him go and for a brief second, she wasn’t sure she _could_ make Harry feel better after last night. _And why does it feel like he’s been harboring some type of feelings for a long time?_

                She wanted to ask him more about it but he seemed to be closed off after that point. _I sure hope this plan for later works._

__

* * *

 

                Harry only seemed to perk up when Grace told him she had something nice and relaxing planned for them to do later that wouldn’t involve anyone but them. He would not stop asking her non-stop about what they were doing as they headed to their location but she simply kept telling him it was a surprise, just like he had told her countless times before.

                “But that’s not fair!” He whined as he followed behind her after they got off of the hotel elevator.

                “You withhold secrets from me all the time, Harry. This is nothing new!”

                “For a good reason!”

_And I’m guessing all that other stuff you haven’t told me is for a good reason too?_

                “If you want to know so bad where we’re going, just look ahead of you!” She pointed down the hall.

                “The vending machines?” Harry gave her an annoyed look. “Wow, __thanks,__ Gracie. I’ve __always__ wanted to visit hotel vending machines and get myself a Coke.”

                “No, I mean what’s next to it!”

                “The pool?” Harry didn’t look impressed as they approached the door to the rooftop swimming pool.

                “It says closed.” He pouted as they stood right by the door.

                “Yeah, closed for anyone whose name isn’t Grace Evergreen or Harry Styles.” She gave him a small smile as she put their keycard into the slot for the pool’s lock and quickly pulled it back out.

                “You reserved it?” He looked down at her as she opened the door when it gave a satisfied clicking noise before it could lock again. Grace nodded.

                “Yeah, only for a few hours though. They were kind of upset but when I told them who you were, they _gladly_ agreed.”

                “Thanks, Gracie.” He gave her a huge smile before slipping through the door behind her. “But you know what you forgot?”

                “What?”

                “Your swim clothes! How are we going to have any fun if you’re not even dressed for the occasion?!”

                “That didn’t stop us from having fun at the beach.” She gave him a smile that he quickly returned.

                “But that’s the beach. What’re we going to do here?”

                “Relax…” were her final words before she began to walk away towards one of the white swimming pool chairs. She grabbed a nearby towel on the table to place over the chair before she sat down and leaned all the way back.

                “When am I __ever__ going to get you in a swim suit?” Harry muttered as he sat down in the chair beside her.

                “Why are you so concerned about me in swim wear?” She looked over at him to find he was sitting facing her. He shrugged.

                “It’s like the only thing I haven’t seen you in and it’s fitting for the occasion. I mean, if you can wear one for the magazines, why can’t you wear one for me?”

_Well, maybe because you wouldn’t like what you see, Styles…_ Not wanting to let him know she was still insecure on him seeing her in a bathing suit, she went with a change of topic.

                “You saw those?” Grace asked in fake disbelief. She had an inkling that Harry kept up with her when they weren’t talking ever since that day he got mad at Niall for saying he looked at her photoshoots.

                “Well… yeah…” He trailed off suddenly as he put his head down. She knew right then and there that he was embarrassed and was trying to hide a blush.

                “So you _did_ keep up with me?”

                Harry nodded as he rubbed at his upper arm with one hand.

                “I mean… I just missed you and all after we quit talking to one another. It was the only way I could see how you were doing.”

_I don’t know whether to be appalled or satisfied that he’s being so honest._

                “Do you think I did a good job?”

                “Hell yeah.” Harry looked up at her finally to give her a crazy look.

                “You did better than good. You did amazing. You drew in the crowds. You were their number one asset.” His face then fell a bit after his words before he went into silence.

_Please don’t tell me he’s going back to what Chester said about how I used him or whatever. Harry knows above anything I’d never use him like that, it was just something to get me back on my feet._ She thought as she watched him curiously.

                “Thanks, Harry.” She said softly to bring him back to reality.

                “It’s nothing.” His eyes focused back in on hers only briefly before he looked away to run his hand over his hair that wasn’t styled up in a bun.

                “But… you know speaking of Sun and all, I did get that number traced yesterday while you were in the shower.”

                “You did?” Grace nearly sat up in her seat but Harry held his arm out to stop her.

                “Woah, chill out.” Harry laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

                “And yeah… they haven’t gotten back to me yet on it but I did ask the phone company about it. They should tell us in a few days who this person is.”

__What a relief…_ _

                “So, what’s our plan after that?”

                “ _Our?_ ” Harry snorted at her.

                “It’s _my_ plan after they tell us who it is. You don’t do anything. You just let your boyfriend here handle everything.”

                “What are you going to do when you figure out who it is then?” Grace crossed her arms over her chest.

                “File a restraining order?”

                “Probably.” Harry finally leaned back normally in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.

                “Or sue for harassment.”

                “You wouldn’t.” She glanced down his tanned arms to notice his underarm hair peeking from underneath his shirt.

                “I would. This stuff is a serious offense in my book.” He crossed one leg over the other as he stared up at the pretty blue sky.

                “But all we do now is… sit here…” He turned to face her with a serious expression on his face.

                “… and wait.”

                Grace nodded before also turning her attention to the sky. For once, it wasn’t muggy or rainy out today and she was so glad the weather had pulled through. It was just right for a quick dip at the pool and maybe even to go walking around in later.

                “Hey… Gracie?” Harry asked quietly several minutes later.

                “Hmm?” She turned to face him, realizing he must have been looking at her for quite some time.

                “Can I… I want to talk to you about something later.”

                She hesitated for a moment before answering him. He still had the serious expression on his face, but she saw he was slightly worried as well. __Something’s up…__

                “Yeah you can tell me anything, Harry. You know that.” Grace finally answered.

                Harry didn’t seem to notice her pause as he just continued talking.

                “Well… This has really been on my heart for a while and I just wanted you to… you know talk to me about it like you always have talked me through other things. I just want to know what you think about something.”

_This has got to be something really important to him._

                “Yeah, anything, Harry. What’s the matter?”

                He paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed for a brief second as his green eyes slightly wavered away from her brown ones. She knew in that moment he was indecisive if he should spill whatever he wanted to tell her. And in that moment he took to think it out it cost him dearly.

                “SEE, NO ONE’S HERE!”

                Grace looked past Harry’s shoulder to find another couple coming out to the pool, grins on their faces at the fact the pool was nearly empty.

_What timing…And we had it reserved for way longer than this._ Grace let out a sigh as she met Harry’s eyes again to give him an apologetic look. She knew he wanted to __really__ talk about whatever this was but he just couldn’t now with these new people coming in. They could be fans or this could be something really secretive to him he didn’t want just anyone to hear.

                “You can just tell me later in the room, okay?”

                He nodded, seeming to be disappointed as well at the change of events.

_I wonder what he wanted to say…_ Grace couldn’t help but wonder as he turned away to stare back up at the very few passing clouds. It __had__ to be something important for him to look so serious like that. The last time he told her something with that face was when Zayn left…

_I hope he does tell me about whatever is bugging him…_ She looked away to focus her attention on the sky as well. Grace knew Harry trusted her, but for him to be hesitant on this one let her know it was something huge. Maybe even bigger than what she would ever expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close, yet so far on figuring out Harry's secret. What do you guys think it could be? 
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and thank you for all your comments and kudos! I'm so glad you all enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. In the next few chapters some things will start to unfold, so fasten those seatbelts! I'll see you all next update! <3


	31. Something's Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update is here. Happy reading!

               Luckily for both Grace and Harry, things were smooth sailing after their pool date. Harry was in a better mood, and Grace thought less about how much she would rather be back in LA in her warm bed in her apartment. On some days Harry would go out on his own to grab something to eat and bring her back a dessert for a treat when she simply wanted to have some alone time. He was great at giving her space despite their small hotel room and she was grateful for it, but one day right before his tour dates started up he wanted to do something different.

               “Hey Gracie, can you come here a second?” He called from the kitchen one late afternoon.

               “What is it?” she asked as she joined him in the small room. She was hoping that this would be good news, but by the tone of his voice he sounded hesitant. _He isn’t upset again is he? He couldn’t possibly be... Or is he upset at me? No... I haven’t done anything to upset him in a while._

               _Is he maybe going to tell me what was on his mind yesterday_? The thought alone made her a bit anxious. Harry seemed pretty nervous when he brought it up to her the other day, but he made no mention of it again as if he decided he wouldn’t tell her after all. _Just what is  going through his head?_

               “I want to visit my mum and sister before this part of tour starts,” Harry said while fiddling with one of his hairbands with his long fingers. “My mum is kinda worried about me after everything that happened, and I also just want to see her and Gemma. You’re welcome to come too, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that I’ll be gone for a day or two if you decide to stay here.”

               _This couldn’t be what he wanted to tell me... He’s hiding something_. Grace watched his facial expression and listened to his tone of voice to hear if he really wanted her to come with him or not, but she couldn’t pick up on his true intentions. Before she could answer though, Harry had stopped playing with his hair tie to look at her and to continue talking.

               “Niall is like the next door over too, so it’s not like I’m leaving you here alone. He’ll be here, and Louis and Liam will be a call away.”

               _Niall..._ Grace bit her lip as she remembered how weird he had been acting recently around her. _It’s almost like you’re leaving me here alone though. Niall hates me now or something. Plus I have no idea where either Louis or Liam are. Liam’s got to be busy with something, and Louis has been off the radar for a while._

               “How many hours will you be away?” she asked quietly as she played with her hands to give her more time to think.

               “Just a few. So I’ll be just a phone call away as well.” He watched her curiously.

               _Great, now he’s picked up on the fact I’m nervous about something. What should I do? Should I tell him I’ll think about it, or does he maybe need space to spend time with his family after everything that’s gone on?_ She took in a big breath of air before continuing. “Well… I think its best you spend time with your family alone Harry. You haven’t seen them in a while, and I don’t want to be in the way of your family business.”

               “You wouldn’t be in the way. I don’t know why you keep thinking that when you’re with me. Trust me.” Harry gave her a reassuring smile. “Mum likes you, and I’m sure Gemma would like you too.”

               _Yeah but Harry I’m just your girlfriend. It’s not like we’re engaged… or is this his way of saying he wants me there?_ “I don’t know Harry...” She paused a bit to think it through again. _Why on earth would he possibly want me to be there though? I’m sure it wouldn’t make him a difference if I stay here or not._ _“_ I think I’ll just stay here. You can tell your mom I said hi,” she said finally after she decided she’d hang back at the hotel.

               Even though there was a bit of disappointment in Harry’s eyes as he nodded in agreement, Grace couldn’t help but to feel like she just wasn’t ready yet to meet his whole family. It was too early, and she would feel like she’d be invading his privacy. Plus it was just so different to her that Harry wanted her to meet his whole family so early on. _He never brought his other girlfriends home, did he? Maybe he really is serious... Wait Grace it’s too early to think of that though! We are friends as well so maybe he just wanted me to tag along..._ “But you know, maybe the next time we’re out here I can go,” she added to make him feel a bit better.

               “Yeah maybe.” Harry gave her a warm smile before turning away. “You talk to your mum recently?” he asked quietly to take the topic off of his family.

               “Yeah. We talked the day after you and I were at the pool.” She specifically left out the part about Mom worrying about her and Harry at the zoo. He was over that, and the last thing she needed to tell him was her mom was ready to fly out to London to bring her back home.

               “Tell her I said hi the next time she calls.” He turned back to look at her before pushing himself off the counter. “Well… I’m going to head out tomorrow morning, and I’ll be back in a day or so. I know we’ll see each other before I leave, but you know you can always call me if something comes up. And if you do want to go, you can still tell me tomorrow. I’m in no rush so that’s fine if you tell me at the last minute.”

               She nodded her head. _Yeah… he wants me to go. But I really want him to give some alone time with his family. The only time I’d reconsider is if some rabid squirrel or something got into the room… but_ _maybe whatever he wanted to tell me the other day involved his family too?_ _But what if he wants me there with his family because he wants to tell us all of what was on his mind? Think Grace that doesn’t make any sense... It’s not like he wants to announce he wants to marry you or anything._

               “Hey Gracie, you OK?”

               Grace snapped back to reality to find Harry staring at her with a concerned expression. “Yeah... I’m sorry to worry you Harry; I just spaced out there.”

               “Hmm.” He hummed at her response as if he didn’t believe her. “You’re worrying about something, and I don’t like it.”

               “I’m not worrying about anything!”

               “Gracie come on! We’ve known each other for a while now. I know you. Whatever you’re worried about... Just don’t ok?”

               She simply nodded, finding herself a little concerned with Harry’s change in voice. _Harry never raises his voice at me unless he’s upset… Something’s_ really _bothering him._

               “Just... Trust me alright?” Harry gave her an apologetic look for what seemed like no reason, but Grace already knew why. He was apologizing for the fact he was still hiding things, and he knew she was on to him about it.

               “I’ve always trusted you Harry.” She let out an annoyed sigh. _What’s his deal? Is everything OK with his family?_ She wanted to ask him if everything was alright with his family, but he just simply nodded at her and began to head over to the sofa without another word.

               _He’s closing himself off again._ She watched as he plopped down on the sofa, his expression unreadable as he grabbed his journal from the table to jot something down. It never struck her to nosy into his personal things, but in that moment she couldn’t help but to wonder what he was writing down.

               _Harry you’ve got to tell me what’s wrong. I know it’s not like you to act this way._ She turned to face the kitchen cabinet, finding Harry had left his blue hair tie all alone beside her. She would reflect on Zayn’s words at the time, how Harry had his reasons for not telling her certain things, but she knew deep down inside Harry needed to talk to her about whatever this was. Planning a random family trip and inviting her was weird. They were only dating for a little over two months, and he wanted to bring her around his family? Weird indeed.

               _Something’s up..._ She grabbed his hair tie from the counter to slip it onto her own wrist. _Things aren’t adding up around here..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys, and thank you so much for your comments, subs, and kudos! Next update is a big one, so get ready. See you all next update!


	32. Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update is here and it's a long, sweet and spicy one! I know I promised quicker updates, but I hope this makes up for that. Happy reading guys!

                Grace pretended to be asleep the next morning when she heard Harry’s breathing level out and his light snoring stop, signaling he was awake for the day. She had been awake for an hour already, first slipping off to the bathroom to relieve herself, and then coming back to think over everything that had happened in the past few days.

                The pitter patter of the rain outside of the hotel window was comforting all through the morning hours as it accompanied her in her thoughts. She knew Harry wanted her to come with him to see his family, he just wasn’t being straightforward with her as usual this time.

                _If he was being normal he’d trick me into going with him as a surprise, or just straight out ask me if I wanted to go. Why is he being so subtle this time?_ Her body suddenly stiffened when she felt him shifting his position beside her, but she tried to relax. Harry may be able to finish her sentences for her, but he wouldn’t be able to detect if she was awake or not.

                After several moments of just lying in bed, she suddenly felt his chest pressed against her back. He gave her a brief kiss on the cheek before gently scooting away from her to push the covers down so he could head off towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.

                _Has he always done that?_ She opened her eyes when she heard the bathroom door shut. She knew from last summer Harry would occasionally check in on her when he thought she was sleeping before he left for the day, but this was something new.

                _So that’s what he was doing the other day before we went to the pool. He woke up after me so he didn’t get what he wanted…_ She looked across at the clock on the bedside table beside her before letting out a quiet sigh. _But now’s not the time to think about how adorable Harry is… I’ve got to make up my mind on if I want to go out with him to his hometown._

She already knew her answer was yes the more and more she thought about it. Harry wouldn’t just want her to go for no reason at all; he never would’ve brought it up to her in the way he had last night if he didn’t. But she was scared for some reason. She had never met Jake’s parents before, and she had never met any of her guy friends’ parents because there was no point. She was horrible at first impressions, and she was scared Harry’s family would gang up on her.

                _Come on Grace; Harry’s mom likes you._ She listened to the sound of Harry’s shower water coming on, letting her know she had at least thirty minutes to think everything out before he was done.

                _And you are his friend too so don’t even worry about it. Plus, I’m really uncomfortable staying here with Niall. He’s… weird._ She rolled over on her back when Harry’s shower singing met her ears. He wasn’t singing one of his own songs, but instead was singing some old 80’s song she had heard time and time again with courtesy of her mom. _Everybody Wants to Rule the World._ A smile rose to her lips.

                _Maybe it’s just time I face my fears, and truly trust Harry on this one. He’ll stick up for me if things go downhill, right?_ Grace focused on the white ceiling as her thoughts continued to flow. He stuck up for her in front of his fans but family was different, and she knew he loved his sister and mom way more than her he and rightfully should. _He’s going to pick his mom’s side no matter what. I know that._

                _Just don’t do anything to make them mad… Let him do most of the talking…_ She ran through a list of possible things that could go wrong, while also making a list of things she could do to prevent them to calm her nerves down. She had worked out most of the kinks, but before she knew it the door to the bathroom was opening and Harry was stumbling out softly singing _Your Love_ by The Outfield.

                Grace’s eyes widened when she first thought Harry had emerged out of the bathroom butt naked. It wasn’t anything new, but the fact he would walk out naked in broad daylight surprised her. Once he stepped into a clearer view she saw he did indeed have a towel on, but it was just barely riding low on his hips.

                Harry ran his fingers through his still wet hair before putting a towel over it as he looked in the mirror at himself, still oblivious to the fact she was awake. It took him what felt like forever to stop checking himself out in the mirror on the opposite wall before turning towards her to find her awake. “Shit. Sorry, did I wake you up?” he whispered.

                She shook her head no. “No. I’ve been awake for a while.”

                “Just staring up at the ceiling like that?” He laughed off his embarrassment while putting the towel over his head around his shoulders.

                “Don’t even start with me, Harry. You do it too.” She huffed which sent him into more quiet laughter. “But… I was just thinking honestly.”

                “About?” He sat down beside her on the bed. He may have thought she didn’t notice, but she didn’t miss how he was blatantly checking her out. She had barely bothered to pull the covers up across her chest, and she knew Harry liked what he could see of her partially uncovered chest. It wasn’t helping either since her pajama top was low cut as well. “You know Gracie, when are you ever _not_ thinking? Don’t you ever turn your mind off?”

                “Nope.” She took a deep breath, taking in the scent of Harry’s body wash and shampoo. “Girls’ brains are different. We’re always thinking while you can shut yours off. I’m always thinking about things, even multiple things at once.”

                “Are you implying I’m stupid?”

                “It’s just the way the human brain works, Harry. I wasn’t saying you were dumb.”

                “I’m just joking.” He smiled after her snippy response. “You’re so fun to mess with… but anyway, what’s on your mind?”

                She shrugged, finally meeting his eyes. “I was just thinking about what you said last night.” She paused in her sentence to watch his face for any changes in facial expression, but he remained attentive. “I had a change in heart… I decided I’d go with you to your mom’s house.”

                “What? Really?” He kept a consistent face, but Harry’s eyes always told Grace how he was feeling. He was happy she had changed her mind.

                She nodded. “I think it might be fun, and besides…” She raised her eyebrows in a flirty gesture. “I don’t want to stay here alone... without you”

                She rarely outright flirted with Harry like this, it just wasn’t her personality, but she could tell Harry was both surprised by it and liking it by the way he started to turn a slight red. “Gracie you know we can’t do anything over my mum’s house. My mum would be weirded out if she walked in on us doing something.”

                “Doesn’t she already know we’re doing _stuff_? I live with you, people are bound to think we’re doing _something_.”

                “Fuck, Gracie cut it out.” He turned a deeper shade of red.

                “I’m just playing, Harry.” She laughed as she grabbed his shoulder. She’d never admit it to him, but he was absolutely adorable when he was embarrassed like this and she knew only she could make him this flustered. _And he’s supposed to be the lady’s man._

                “Oh really?” He suddenly smiled at her, turning his body around so he could trap her underneath him. “Well, I’m not.”

                “Harry stop it!” She laughed harder when he blew air on the most sensitive part of her neck. Ever since he had kissed her there and figured out it was the perfect spot to either give her hickeys or have her jumping, he never stopped abusing his newfound knowledge.

                “You’re always telling me to stop but I know you only want more.” He nipped her neck suddenly before she could push him off of her. She quickly flipped him over on his back before he could try to pin her down again. When she happened to touch the area right below his rib cage she got an unexpected response out of him.

                “Hey! What are you doing?” He laughed harder than she thought he would as he tried to wiggle away from her.

                “What?” she asked in bewilderment. “Are you ticklish or something?” Grace this time tickled the same area again which had Harry squirming all over the place.

                “ _Yes_ , I am!” He grabbed her wrist before she could do any more damage, but she just continued her onslaught on the other side of his body.

                “Fuck! Gracie, stop it,” he half whined, half laughed as he turned himself over on his stomach to get her to stop.

                “But you just did the same to me with my neck!”

                “So? This is completely different!” He flipped himself back over to grab her arms but in that moment the towel around his waist slid down way lower than Grace wanted it to.

                _I am not just wrestling naked with Harry in the bed. I am_ not _just wrestling with a naked Harry in bed,_ she couldn’t help but to repeat in her head as the situation dawned on her. On the other hand though, Harry didn’t seem to mind or care as he pinned her down again to only lay between her legs. _And I can feel him through my pajama bottoms!_

“Don’t _ever_ do that again,” he warned in a joking tone as he pressed his forehead against hers while he tried to catch his breath.

                “Are you mad I figured out your weakness now?”

                “No.” He gave her a sly smile. “I know yours too now.”

                She gave him a puzzled look but the next thing she knew he was grinding his crotch right up against hers.

                “Damn it Harry,” she gasped out his name as she gripped his shoulders a bit harder than she meant to. She should have saw that coming from a mile away, but somehow she didn’t think it through this time.

                “Fuck that was hot. Say my name like that again,” he whispered right in her ear, and she felt like dying right then and there. She could feel him getting hard on the most sensitive part of her body.

                “Harry it’s too early in the morning for this,” she whined as he kissed her shoulder briefly.

“You’re not the type for morning sex?” He kissed her neck before meeting her eyes.

                “Well… maybe when we get to that stage,” she honestly told him. Harry was attractive and she liked him a lot, but she just still wasn’t ready to take that step with him. She knew he had done it before probably countless times but this was a huge leap to her. She just still didn’t trust him enough.

                _He probably doesn’t even know I’m a virgin… or that he was my first kiss. Yeah, he definitely doesn’t know he was my first kiss._ She watched him, just waiting to see if he’d get mad at her or not, but he just nodded to her surprise. He didn’t get upset with her as he quietly asked, “So… is up to here OK?”

                _What on earth is he talking about? Oh… he’s asking if he’s going too fast for me._ “It’s… It’s fine.”

                There was a tentative moment of silence before he asked, “Can I ask you something?”

                His voice was so soft and gentle it sent chills down her spine, especially with the way he was looking at her. “Yeah… what is it?”

                “Am I… Have you ever done this with anyone before?”

                _He knows._ She looked away from him briefly to focus on his chest instead. She found it embarrassing that she was twenty-two years old, but had never kissed a guy, never seen a guy naked in person, or sexually touched a guy before she met Harry. _Is he going to think I’m a loser?_

“I’m sorry… you don’t have to answer if I’m making you uncomfortable-” he started.

                “No. I haven’t,” she cut him off, still scared he may laugh in her face. “So yeah, you’re the first.”

                Harry studied her face for a moment when her eyes met his, and she wasn’t sure she liked the way he was looking at her. It wasn’t threatening, but he just looked shocked. She knew he wanted to ask her why, but he didn’t say anything more as he leaned down to rest his cheek against hers. She flinched a bit at his movement since it caused his hips to rock into hers briefly, but she felt herself instinctively gripping his waist with her thighs anyway to hold him in place.

                “You know… you really are something else,” he muttered against her neck, his hot breath sending tingles all down her spine just before his lips made contact with her skin.

                She still didn’t know what he meant by that, so she stayed silent as she ran her hands down his tanned back, loving the way he’d move at her touch. It only took him a few minutes to prop himself up on his elbows so he could continue his kisses on her lips. Grace wasn’t sure if it was an unconscious motion with the way every few seconds he’d grind himself against her but she didn’t mind at all. He didn’t pressure her into going any further with him that morning, and she didn’t mind how his hands felt along her body or the way he kissed her like she was his everything. She noticed immediately how he had changed slightly in the way he’d kiss her that morning, or the way he’d run his fingers down her side, to her waist and then down to where her leg met her abdomen. His touches were gentler, his kisses were more longing, and the way he looked at her when he was done was different than usual.

                In that moment right then and there she knew Harry felt something different about her. He didn’t laugh at her inexperience like she thought he might and make a crude joke about it, but if she didn’t know any better she would say he was trying to actually convey how he felt about her in the way he kissed her and the way he was touching her. Maybe he was completely serious about her… _But is that possible in the short time we’ve been dating?_ She knew Harry had feelings for her way before they started dating, but just how much did he like her?

* * *

 

_We shouldn’t have done this._

Grace pressed two of her fingers against her temple as the same thought pounded in her head over and over again. It felt like it was taking years to get to Harry’s mom’s house, and she just wanted it all to end.

                She didn’t regret almost having sex with Harry a few hours ago; not at all. The only thing she regretted was showing up at Harry’s mom’s house with love bites all over her neck and shoulders. Just thinking about his mom seeing the various ones all over his chest and the scratches on his shoulders was enough to make her scream.

                _If we were going over my parent’s house we’d be dead. Miss Anne’s going to think we fucked before coming here. Look at Harry’s chest._ She briefly glanced at the open part of Harry’s shirt to see the red marks speckled across his skin. It was unmistakable what they were. _Yeah we’re dead._

                She tried to busy her mind with other thoughts as the countryside rolled by, like how Harry felt against her earlier or even how good breakfast was. After everything she still couldn’t believe Harry was this gentle of a lover, but she’d take it.

                _He’s a completely different guy from the magazines and different from last year._ She checked him out from the corner of her eye again. Where was the man that would whisper his sinful, sexual fantasies right in her ear, fuck her into the mattress all night, and leave then the next day? _The media’s writing about a completely different Harry Styles,_ she thought before chuckling to herself.               All she knew was Harry was an absolute sweetheart. He was quirky and a bit weird, but he was a romantic at heart.

                “What’re you giggling about over there?” Harry raised his eyebrows as he smiled as well. For a brief instant she thought he’d joke about what they had done before they hopped into a chauffeured rental car, but she knew he wouldn’t. That was a precious moment to her, and despite his previous experiences she knew it was a precious moment for him too.

                “Just you.” She smiled back.

                He shook his head in amusement before turning away again to watch several buildings come into view. She had to admit he looked amazing today, and not just because she was feeling high after making out with him for what felt like five hours straight. He was dressed in one of his cream palm tree button ups, of course leaving the first few buttons undone for show, with the pair of jeans she had picked out for him back in LA for a surprise. To finish it off, he had on a pair of his black ankle boots, personally one of her favorite pairs. His hair was down, swooped back a bit more than usual with a pair of his brown sunglasses keeping the front in place. Harry was a stunning man, and she wasn’t just thinking it because she was dating him.

                “You can make a right here,” Harry pulled away from the window briefly to call out to the driver. “And follow this road out for a while.”

                Grace looked out the window to take in how cozy and homey the little town looked and felt. It was completely different from London and LA, and had its own little feel.

                “You nervous?” Harry asked suddenly as the car continued to travel down the road.

                “A little,” she said honestly, knowing that if anything Harry could talk her out of a few of her worries.

                “Don’t be.” He looked away from the window to look at her. “I’m right here.” He touched her knee before letting his hand travel up to her mid-thigh. “If I can handle your dad, you can definitely handle Mum and Gemma.”

                She nodded, placing her hand over his. She had her doubts about how this would turn out, but with him being so confident that everything would be fine she couldn’t help but to feel like things would turn out OK.

* * *

 

                “You got a bit of… you know… on your neck.”

                “Harry, be quiet.” Grace rolled her eyes as he snickered at his _fancywork_ on her neck. _If anything he should be worried about his mom getting the wrong idea. But maybe he’s just trying to make me to feel better as well since he knows I’m nervous?_ She glanced over at him briefly to find a mischievous smirk on his face, but when he caught her eye he relaxed his face into a gentle smile. _Whatever it is, he’s still a charmer as usual._

                Before either one of them could say another word the door to his mom’s house swung open, and the woman Grace had met back in a hospital in London was greeting them.

                “Oh there you are Harry! I missed you so much!” She wrapped her arms around Harry immediately, seeming to nearly suffocate him in a hug. “How are you sweetie? I’m _so_ glad to see you!”

                “I’m fine Mum, and I missed you too. How are you?” His voice was muffled against her hair.

                “Good! Good!” She just barely pulled out of the embrace before standing up on her tip-toes to kiss her tall son on the forehead. “You’ve really grown since I’ve last saw you… You look thinner too… Have you been taking your vitamins? Have you been eating well? Have you been taking your _you knows_ -?”

                “Mum, I’m literally the same height,” Harry laughed as he wiggled out of her grip. He glanced back at Grace with a look of help on his face. She wasn’t sure if Harry had told his mom or not if she was coming over, but she’d stay out of the way until he introduced her.

                “Oh Harry there she is!” Anne said with excitement after she followed his line of sight. “I didn’t think she’d be coming?” she asked in a lower voice.

                “Mum…” Harry growled under his breath in both annoyance and embarrassment while Grace tried to hold back her laughter. He had definitely told her and of course his mom was not good at keeping his secrets like he told her not too long ago.

                “How are you Grace? Nice to see you again!”

                “It’s nice to see you too Miss Anne.” She smiled at her as Anne gave her a brief hug.

                “Here we go with the formalities again…” She gave Harry a knowing look as she pulled out of the hug. “Anne’s just fine.”

                “Mum you’re not going to get her to stop. She does that with me too.” Harry smiled at Grace before looking back at his mother. “She called me _Mr. Styles_ the first time she met me, and wouldn’t stop calling me that until not too long ago.”

                “That’s not true!” Grace frowned at him, causing him to laugh. _Well maybe the Mr. Styles part, but I never called him mister again after that._

                “Well aren’t you two the cutest,” Anne said under her breath which had Harry frowning slightly. “Well! Let’s not stand out here all day! Come on in, come on in.”

                Grace followed Harry inside and stuck close to him as his mother led them towards the sitting area. She tried not to get caught staring by either one of them, but she couldn’t believe how homey Harry’s mom’s place was. She expected to be dropped off at some luxurious mansion that he had bought for her, but instead it was a very simple modern house with just enough space for his mom and sister.

                _Speaking of his sister, where is she?_ Grace sat by Harry on the sofa, barely listening as his mom prattled on to him about something or another. _I wonder if he told her that I was coming over too._ She frowned a bit as she focused on the fireplace underneath a mantle on the far side of the room. _This is still so weird to me. Why did he ask me to come over to begin with? Did he just not want to go alone or leave me alone back at the hotel? No… the first one makes no sense, but the second one could be true. But he was saying something about Niall would keep me company…_

“Hey Grace…”

                “Hmm… Sorry what?” She blinked back to reality to find Harry giving her a concerned look while his mom was just smiling at her softly.

                “I was just asking if you wanted something to drink,” Anne said quietly. “We have tea, some sodas or water.”

                “Water will be fine. Thank you.” She nodded her head and smiled back as Anne left the room. _Way to go Grace… Way to go._

                “You kinda spaced out there… Is everything OK?” Harry asked in a quiet voice as soon as his mom was out of the room.

                “Yeah I’m fine.” She kept her answer brief to prevent him from getting worried.

                Harry gave her the universal look of _I know something’s up,_ but he didn’t press it as he let out a sigh. She knew he wanted to say something more, but by the way his eyebrows furrowed when he turned away and the way the corners of his mouth drooped slightly let her know it wasn’t anything positive.

                _He doesn’t want to start another fight._ She looked away from him as the room was drowned in abrupt silence. _This is going to get awkward so fast, and I don’t want Miss Anne to think anything weird._ “It wasn’t anything bad Harry,” she tried.

                “Just… enjoy the evening, OK?” he asked under his breath. “Everything’s going to be fine. You’re with me, everything’s going to be OK so just relax.”

                She nodded, but didn’t say anything else as Anne returned with a bottle of water. Right behind her a black and white cat followed, carrying its tail proudly as it first looked at Harry then moved its yellow eyes over to Grace.

                “Thank you,” she told Harry’s mother as she took the water from her while the black and white cat approached Harry. It only took a few seconds for the cat to leap into his lap and begin rubbing its head against his chest.

                “Well looks like Sammy missed you too,” Anne laughed as Harry ran his large hand down the cat’s back. The cat closed its eyes and began to purr softly as it raised its butt higher in the air at Harry’s touch.

                “I was wondering if he’d still remember me or not,” Harry laughed when the cat sat in his lap to stare at Grace.

                “Why wouldn’t he remember you? It’s only been a little over half a year since you’ve been home. Besides, Sammy’s always greeted you when you were away for longer.”

                Harry shrugged as his mother took a seat in one of the cream chairs across from the sofa. “It feels longer than that,” he said mostly to himself as his scratched the cat under its chin. Sammy’s eyes closed halfway as he clearly enjoyed the attention Harry was giving him.

                Anne gave Harry a worried look before briefly looking over at Grace. Grace busied herself with opening her bottle of water, not quite sure what to say at this time. It was obviously a topic between Harry and his family that she had no business getting into.

                _This is also why I’m wondering why on earth I’m here. They’ve got to have personal family matters they want to discuss without me here._ She took a quick drink of water, mulling over the fact that it might've been better to just stay back at the hotel and avoid Niall. She was only shaken from her thoughts when Anne got up to call in Harry’s sister.

                “Gemma! Harry’s here!”

                “I thought I heard him come in,” a new voice said shortly after from around the corner. Grace wasn’t quite sure what to expect Harry’s sister to look like since she never paid much attention to the One Direction members’ families, but when Gemma joined them in the living room with an orange cat in her arms she was surprised. She expected to be met with a girl with loosely curling hair and looked somewhat like her brother, but this girl had long, straight hair and different facial features than Harry.

                “Oh!” Gemma exclaimed when she noticed Grace sitting on the sofa beside Harry. “I didn’t know little brother brought his girlfriends over now?” she asked with a slight laugh at the end of her question.

                “Shut up, Gemma.” Harry looked particularly flustered for a brief instant at his sister’s teasing. He suddenly dropped his hand from the cat in his lap to introduce them. “Grace this is Gemma, and Gemma this is Grace.”

                “You’re so stiff. Have some fun!” Gemma nudged Harry’s arm harder than she needed to as she plopped the orange cat right into his lap. Unfortunately for Harry, the cat’s claws were out and the cat did an excellent job of digging them right into his thighs “Hi! It’s nice to meet you Grace.” Gemma gave Grace a small, polite smile as Harry gasped in the background, but Grace could tell something was off about her smile. It was forced.

                “It’s nice to meet you too.” Grace returned the smile as she tried to pinpoint just exactly what the problem was. _Maybe Harry didn’t tell her I was coming over? She looked really shocked when she walked in…or maybe she doesn’t want me here? Come on Grace think positive, why wouldn’t Harry’s sister want you over? You haven’t done anything wrong to Harry or talked bad about him or his family._

                 Gemma paused for a moment as she looked Grace over, checking out her clothes and just taking in her looks. Grace didn’t miss at all how she narrowed her eyes briefly at the hickeys on her neck, but she fixed her face before continuing. “It’s nice to finally put a name to a face. Harry’s _always_ talking about you, but all I’ve seen are grainy pictures of you from paparazzi shots.”

                _What was that look?_ Grace didn’t get a chance to respond since Harry started trying to defend himself on how he wasn’t _always_ talking about her.

                “I am not obsessed!” he growled at his sister as both the cats still sat in his lap.

                “I _think_ you are.”

                _Siblings._ Grace shook her head at them as they continued to squabble with each other, slightly amused at them as a smile grew on her lips. She watched as the orange cat leaped off of Harry’s lap with its tail between its legs to escape the noise, but Sammy simply moved from his lap to sit down right beside her to wash his paws and clean his face.

                “Gemma don’t tease your brother too much! I’ve never seen him such a red color before!” Harry’s mom laughed as she stood in the huge archway to the living room with one hand on her hip. “Why don’t we finish this conversation over dinner?”

                “You made dinner?” Harry asked quickly as he playfully shoved Gemma away from him.

                Anne nodded. “Why wouldn’t I? You’d eat everything out of my refrigerator anyway if I didn’t. Now come on! I know you’re hungry after that long drive.”

                “Don’t think you’re getting out of this.” Gemma ruffled Harry’s hair, which knocked his sunglasses off, before heading off to the kitchen after her mother. Harry sighed in annoyance as he started to mumble something incomprehensible under his breath as he tried to fix his hair back.

                “Are you two always like this?” Grace laughed quietly as she stood to her feet with Sammy watching her every move.

                “No, we aren’t. She’s just showing out because you’re here.” Harry rolled his eyes as he stood to his feet as well. “I didn’t really tell her you’d be over so she’s really going the extra mile.” Harry gave her an exaggerated look by raising his eyebrows at her. “But anyway, I’m hungry. Let’s eat!” He gave her a small smile as he began to lead her towards presumably the dining room.

                “Harry wait!” She called after him, making him stop. “Your hair is...” she stopped talking as she pushed his hair back into place. “There.” She stepped back after fixing it.

                He gave her a curious look before saying, “Thanks Gracie.”

                _He’s probably surprised since I’ve never done that for him before…_ She tried not to blush right in front of him, but she found it nearly impossible with the look he was giving her.

                “Harry! Get in here before the food gets cold!” His sister yelled suddenly from another room further down the hall.

                Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes before he began to lead Grace into the dining room. She followed behind him, still taking in the family portraits that lined the wall of this hall.

                “I’m surprised you weren’t the first one in here,” Grace said to him in a joking tone as they entered the room together. Right away she noticed that either Anne or Gemma had already set the table with the dinner for tonight: rotisserie chicken, green beans, some sort of casserole and au gratin potatoes. _This looks delicious!  
_

                “Oh Grace, you already know Harry _loves_ to eat?” Gemma smiled at her from across the table as she put her long hair into a ponytail. “When he lived here, he used to eat _everything._ He’d eat my food all the time and blame it on mom or vice versa.”

                “Well they do live together honey,” Harry’s mom intervened into the conversation just when Harry sat down at the head of the table.

                “Oh? They do?” Gemma looked confused for a moment before nodding her head slowly, her thin eyebrows furrowing in thought. “So what they said on the news was true?” she asked herself quietly, but loud enough for Grace to hear.

                “You kids can talk about it all over dinner. Right now let’s just eat.” Anne clapped her hands together as she went to cut the chicken.

                “Mum, I’ve got it.” Harry beat her to it as he stood up and took the knife from her.

                “Show off,” Gemma muttered under her breath as she smirked at Harry. He glared at her in defense while jokingly threatening her with the knife.

                Grace watched them quietly, wondering just for a split second what it felt like to have a sibling. It was something she rarely thought about, but after watching Harry and his sister interact with each other and after her conversation with him back in London she started thinking about it more and more.

                “What’s the matter Grace? You’re looking pale,” Anne voiced her concern from across the table.

                “Oh it’s nothing. Just hungry,” she lied as she smiled at Harry’s mom.

                “We were up really late last night too. She just won’t admit she’s tired,” Harry covered for her as well just as he sat back down.

                “Yeah we can _see_ you two were up late.” Gemma reached past her mother to grab the glassware holding the potatoes.

                Grace could feel her cheeks burning as Harry’s sister shifted her eyes over to her briefly with a look of annoyance before looking back at Harry. She was hoping that neither his mom or sister would point out any of the marks on their skin, but it was blatantly obvious something had went down between them. Even though that was the case, she couldn’t help but to feel like Gemma was attacking her. _Maybe she’s just teasing Harry still but what was that look she gave me just now?_

                “Gemma, give Harry a break for once.” Anne looked at Harry with sympathy before looking at Grace. “You’re always welcome to get a nap in our guest bedroom. Or you two could just spend the night here. ”

                “We didn’t plan that far.” Harry gave Grace a look before serving his mom some of the chicken first.

                “Why don’t you stay over? I bet the hotel is boring, and don’t you miss your bed Harry? I never changed your room since you left.”

                “Of course I miss it.” Harry motioned for Grace to offer her plate to him so he could serve her as well. “The hotels always smell weird, and they aren’t the most comfortable beds either.”

                “Then stay over! We don’t mind at all.”

                “Maybe.” He made eye-contact with his sister as he served her last.

                The room fell into silence after Harry’s simple answer and everyone started eating after they fixed their plates. Grace had no idea what to say, so she remained quiet as she tried out each food item on the menu tonight. So far, everything was delicious and she had to admit that Anne might be a slightly better cook than her. _Not better than Mom though._

                “So how’s tour?” Gemma asked quietly what seemed like hours later.

                Harry shrugged as he answered with no enthusiasm. “It’s fun.”

                “Well you’re not acting like its fun right now.”

                He rolled his eyes as he put his fork down on his half clean plate. “I’m just tired Gem. That’s all.” He paused for a moment as he sighed. “It _has_ been fun though. Some of the cities are really fun to travel to, and the crowds have been great this year... for the most part.”

                “I can imagine you’re tired… I still couldn’t imagine myself doing all that you do.”

                “That’s why I’m the star and you’re not.” He laughed, but his smile faded quickly. “But yeah… it is a lot…”

                _He’s going into one of his moods again,_ Grace noted before looking back down at her plate to finish off her green beans. She noticed Harry had been acting weird whenever someone brought up the tour, but she never knew quite why since he never told her or really talked to her about it. _Maybe he still misses Zayn or something?_

                “Well honey, it’ll all be over soon. Just hang in there,” Anne said quietly as she helped herself to more food.

                Harry gave her a weird look before clearing his throat. “I’ll be fine Mum. But anyway… what have you guys been up to while I’ve been away?”

                Grace tuned out of their conversation as his mother and sister started talking about their more personal life. She couldn’t believe Harry was being this open with his family around her, but she didn’t mind. _I guess he trusts me enough._

                Those thoughts didn’t stay on her mind long as she began to wonder why Harry had looked at his mom so weirdly a few moments ago. She didn’t get to finish her thoughts before Anne was adding her into the conversation again.

                “Is Grace always this quiet?” she laughed quietly with Harry.

                “Yeah, she doesn’t talk much unless it’s just us together.” He gave her an encouraging smile as he gently squeezed her knee under the table. “That’s normal for her. She’s always listening in or just thinking to herself.”

                “You guys are like opposites then,” Gemma said under her breath.

                “Well they say opposites do attract,” Anne laughed.

                “So… when did you two meet each other?” Gemma asked suddenly. “I’ve heard a lot of news stories on you guys, friends ask me things sometimes, and Harry’s told me a bit but I want to hear from _you_.” Gemma turned her attention to Grace.

                “We literally bumped into each other last summer, like late May.” Grace cleared her throat before continuing. “Then we ran into each other again this past March.”

                The older woman nodded her head at her as she listened. “I just never pay news and media stuff any attention, but you got my attention. I’ve never seen a woman in Harry’s life for so long.”

                “Hey…” Harry’s voice raised as he frowned at his sister.

                “Well it _is_ true.” She rolled her eyes at him before looking back at Grace. “Anyway, are you in school or…?” she trailed off.

                “I’m currently not. I was attending a local university before I ran into Harry-”

                “Please don’t tell me you dropped out because of him.”

                “No! It was nothing like that,” Grace laughed it off. Her dropping out of school for some guy she just barely met wasn’t even fathomable to her. “It’s just… I ran into a bit of financial trouble... and with everything going on with my family I just didn’t have time for school,” she admitted quietly. “So I took a year off and I was planning to return later this year or next to finish everything up but _things_ happened.” She glanced over at Harry briefly who was giving her a serious look. “So I’ve just been in and out of jobs so I can finally pay for school.”

                “Oh… I’m sorry about all that.” Gemma leaned back in her seat. She paused before asking her next question. “I just saw you modeled for that Sunshine company and was wondering what else you kinda did…”

                “She used to work at an organic dog biscuit company,” Harry suddenly said which had Grace turning to glare at him.

                “Oh, so you like animals?” Gemma ignored Harry’s quiet laughing from the other side of the table.

                Grace nodded. “Yeah I have a dog back at my parents’ place right now. I wanted to get a degree in animal nutrition.”

                “That’s cool.” She nodded her head at Grace. “So you’re not interested in all of the celebrity and fancy stuff are you?”

                Grace shook her head no. “I never really liked the celebrity shows and the magazines. I’m too busy with my own life to worry about it.”

                For the first time that night Grace didn’t miss the fact that Gemma finally gave her a genuine smile, but as soon as it was there it was gone. “That’s nice. I’m like that too.”

                “Are you done interviewing her for your company?” Harry griped from the head of the table.

                “What do you have to do with her all of a sudden?” Gemma turned to look at her brother.

                “Well she _is_ my girlfriend, not yours.”

                “Harry, I’ve been talking to her for _five_ minutes. Calm down!”

                “I am calm!”

                “You’re _yelling_ at me! You really are obsessed…”

                “Well, if you’re all done eating I’ll start cleaning up,” Anne said in the middle of her children bickering back and forth.

                “I’ll help you Miss Anne,” Grace offered to get away from her boyfriend and his sister roaring at each other from across the room.

                Anne looked genuinely surprised as Grace stood to her feet to grab her own plate and Harry’s finished plate since he was right by her. “Thank you.”

                Grace was finally allowed to have some peace and quiet as she helped Anne wash the dishes for the evening which also allowed her time to run through all her new thoughts on Harry’s family. His sister was way louder and talkative than she thought she’d be, but then again he had said she was just acting out because she was there.

                “Have you been enjoying the tour with Harry, Grace?” Anne asked quietly as she put away the leftover food into the refrigerator.

                “Yes it’s been fun. It’s great to see what goes on behind the scenes and to travel around to different countries.”

                “I bet. And I bet Harry loves having you around as well.”

                Grace tried not to blush as she began to dry off one of the plates she had been washing. “Well I don’t know about that much…”

                “You’re so shy…” Anne stopped to put plastic wrap on the top of the container full of the leftover potatoes. “Of course he likes having you around!” She let out a breath as she headed over to the refrigerator again. “But you know… I like that about you Grace.” Grace remained quiet as she put the plate on a dish rack to dry so Anne continued. “I can really tell Harry adores you and I see why. You haven’t changed at all since we first met at the hospital, and everything he’s told me about you is spot on.”

                “What did he say about me?” she finally asked.

                Anne shrugged, suddenly smiling as she turned back to face her. “I’ve already told you enough dear. He’d be upset if I told you more.” To keep Grace from asking her any more questions she changed the conversation. “I know this is sudden but can you run down to the closet down the hall for me and grab some more plastic wrap? I’ll finish putting the dishes away while you grab that for me. Thank you!”

                Grace groaned inwardly as Anne told her where the closet was. She headed out of the side door of the kitchen to head into a quieter and longer hallway than the first. _Why on earth do they keep all the kitchen supplies way down here?_ She turned the corner to find a laundry room with a narrow door beside it just as Anne had described it. Just before her hand hit the doorknob the sound of voices talking in rushed but hushed whispers hit her ears.

                “But Harry you don’t even _know_ her!”

                “What do you mean? We’ve been knowing each other for over a year.”

                “A year means _nothing_. Did you forget who you _are_?”

                Harry let out an exasperated sigh before continuing. “Gracie wouldn’t lie to me.”

                “I never called her a liar, but she could trick you.”

                Grace froze just as her hand reached the knob when she realized they were talking about her. _So his sister was suspicious of me… That’s why she was looking at me like that._ Even though she didn’t want to hear all the mean things his sister was saying about her, she found herself frozen in place as she continued to eavesdrop.

“Why on earth would she do that?”

                “Use your brain Harry! You look good, you’re a millionaire, you drive the fancy cars… She could use you for your money. She could trick you into getting her pregnant then you’re paying for child support!”

                “She’s _not_ like that though Gem. The other ones might have been but she _isn’t_.”

                “And how do you know that?” There was a pause in their conversation when Harry didn’t answer right away. “Yeah, thought so. You _don’t_ know Harry.”

                “She isn’t like that though honestly! She’s the nicest person ever, and she’s a really good friend of mine too! She always listens to me and has always been there for me.

                “Now this is between me and you, but we haven’t _done_ anything yet! If she wanted me for those things wouldn’t _that_ have happened by now? For all I care she could’ve had sex with me the very first night we lived together, but she _didn’t_ and _still_ hasn’t. That counts for something.”

                “Who cares how nice she is Harry and who cares when you two decide to have sex? It’s called leading people on. All she’s got to do is get you enamored with her and you’re pretty much dead to her. She’ll get what she wants and will leave.”

                “Look Gem, if she wanted me for the sex or the money she could have got both of those by now. You’re not making any sense. We’ve had numerous opportunities to fuck each other and if she wanted the money she would’ve been asking for me to buy her all sorts of crazy things! I already know the ones that are just after those two things. I’ve been with enough and met enough women like that but Gracie’s different I’m telling you! Don’t you trust me?”

                “Of course I trust you!” There was another sigh. “Have you ever thought about maybe she’s just here to break your heart?”

                There was another moment of silence that had Grace’s breath hitching in her throat. Why was his sister accusing her of all of these things? She would never do any of those things to Harry.

                “All I’m saying is _slow down_ with her Harry. The last thing you want to do is end up falling in love too soon.”

                “Why are you accusing her of all of this? You just met her today and you’re making her seem like Medusa or something! Besides, _you_ wouldn’t even know what it’s like to finally meet someone you really like! It’s not just about how pretty she is Gem, she actually _gets_ me and we can have decent conversations-”

                “Because Harry you don’t know her motives either!” she snapped. There was a slight pause between her sentences as if she were giving up. “…I’m only saying this because I’m your sister and I love you. I’ve seen you date so many girls and it gets you nowhere. Even though you never admit it and you put up a front, I can tell it _has_ been hurting you recently with your last two girlfriends after everything that happened. And I don’t want the same thing to happen to you again.”

                Grace bit her lip as she quietly opened the closet door, knowing neither of them could hear her with how far down the hall they were. She grabbed the plastic wrap from the topmost shelf and closed the door quietly behind her before heading off to give it to Anne. She didn’t want to hear anymore, and she didn’t want to hear if Harry would agree with his sister or not.

                “Oh there you are! You didn’t get lost did you?” Harry’s mom asked as she appeared in the kitchen. Unfortunately, she immediately knew something was wrong. “Grace dear, what’s wrong?”

                “Oh it’s nothing.” She tried to put a smile on her face but she knew she failed miserably as she handed the box of plastic wrap to her. “I just… I just need a breath of fresh air,” she whispered, feeling like she’d burst into tears at any moment.

                _I’m not going to cry in front of her…_ She turned away from her to head back into the dining room, down the hall and towards the front door where she could finally be alone. She didn’t know where she was going, she had no idea what was in Harry’s old neighborhood but she’d go wherever her feet took her to walk off her stress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys, and thank you for all your kudos and comments! Hopefully next update this whole situation will get cleared up, huh? See you all next update!


	33. Worried

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New update is here! This one is shorter than the last one, and emotional one as well. Hopefully things turn out right between Grace and Harry, right? Happy reading and have a great weekend!

                Grace felt like she had been sitting on the park swing for days as the sun’s last rays finally disappeared from view in front of her in the sky. She had been lucky enough to find a children’s playground and park not too far away from Harry’s house, but far enough away to where he couldn’t find her easily. She sniffed once and wiped at her nose as she drew her jacket closer to her chest and face to keep the cool wind from chilling her to what felt like the bone. Right now she just wanted to disappear, maybe even go back to the outskirts of California where her parents were to just lay in her own bed and cry with Happy right beside her.

                _It was so stupid for me to come out here with him. I knew his sister would hate me…_ She watched as several birds flew by in the sky, wishing more than anything they could take her away. _He’s going to side with his sister because that’s his family but… at least he did stick up for me. What hurts is I’m not anything like his sister was saying, and I’d never be like that. That’s just a sick and twisted thing to do to someone. Shouldn’t he know I care about him more than anything?_

 _I’ve got to talk to someone now though or I’m going to be out here all night freezing to death and crying._ She let out a deep sigh as she pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket. She unlocked it, went to the call screen and then the favorites screen to hit the name of the only person she knew she could talk to right now.

                “Hello?” Her mom answered after a few rings.

                “Mom…” she said quietly in a shaky voice. _Come on Grace hold yourself together…_

                “What’s the matter Grace? What’s wrong?” Her mom asked quickly.

                “I just need to talk.”

                “I can tell sweetie… Well what’s the matter? Is everything OK with you and Harry? He hasn’t done anything or said anything he shouldn’t have, has he?”

                “No… He’s fine it’s just…” She took in a breath as she tried to pick her words out. Harry was _fine_ , it was just she was scared he’d rethink everything about her after his talk with his sister. His sister _was_ right. He had to watch out for women and people in general that just wanted to use him, but she _wasn’t_ one that wanted to use him. She actually really did genuinely like him for him.

                “It’s just…” she finally continued. “Mom when you met Dad’s family did anyone hate you for no reason at all?”

                “Oh… honey… Are you over Harry’s house with his family?”

                She nodded her head even though she knew her mom couldn’t see. “Yeah. It’s just… I know it was dumb to come over to his mom’s house with him today, but he _really_ wanted me to come. Thing is, his sister hates me. She thinks I’m out to get him or something weird, and she acts like I couldn’t possibly like him for who he is, not what he is, if that makes any sense.”

                “I’m sorry that happened Grace but… well dear not everyone’s going to like you. And to answer your question, yes there were people in your dad’s family that hated me. His mom still does to this day.” She let out a dramatic sigh, signaling that that was another story for another time. “She thought I wasn’t good enough for him and all of that malarkey. But you know what matters the most?”

                “What?” Grace sniffed again as the wind picked up in the area.

                “That you prove them wrong. That’s all you can do sweetie. And I _know_ Harry likes you enough that he also wants you to prove them wrong.”

                “But his sister is telling him _not_ to be with me because she thinks I’m trouble. She thinks I’m using him or something weird!”

                “And you know you’re not using him, right? Just prove them wrong Grace. You know why you’re with Harry and that whatever they’re accusing you of is false so don’t worry about it. If Harry really wants to be with you, trusts you and likes you as much as he says he does, he’ll stay with you no matter what they say. And if he doesn’t… well he wasn’t worth it. There’s plenty of other guys out there and you never know, if he doesn’t work out there will always be someone better.”

                _She’s not understanding me…_ “But Mom, of course he’s going to take his family’s side. That’s his _family_! We haven’t been together long enough for him to even consider taking my side. We’ve only been together for two months and a half now!”

                Her mother sighed on the other end of the line before continuing. “You know Grace, sometimes your pacing may be different in love than others. Have you ever thought about how _you_ may not be in love with Harry as deeply as he is in love with you?”

                Grace stopped to think as she kicked the ground with her feet, causing the swing to move under her. Harry had always moved faster than her in the relationship, hence the many times she had to stop him from trying to have sex with her. _He did kiss me way before I was ready to kiss him too…_

                “Just think about it, OK? And keep your head up. I believe Harry likes you more than you think. If you don’t feel safe you come right back home, OK?”

                “Yeah… I will.” She agreed to all three as she sniffed again. She wasn’t expecting her mom to actually take a more harsh approach with her but she did have to admit it helped more so than her babying her. “Thanks Mom.”

                “You’re welcome. Just hang in there. Did you need anything else?”

                “No. That was it. I’ll call you again tomorrow or text you later tonight.”

                “Tonight? It’s morning here! Where are you?”

                “Some little town in England.” She looked around her to make sure Harry wasn’t out looking for her or no one strange was coming up behind her. “I miss home a lot… and you and Dad.”

                “We miss you too. But the tour will be over soon? Won’t it?”

                “Yeah… The next date is in a few days and then Harry’s done with touring until probably next year.”

                “Well you always know you don’t have to stay with him the whole tour. You’ve been traveling with him for nearly two months!”

                “Yeah… I’ll think about it all OK, Mom?” She bit her lip, not quite knowing what to do now. Should she go back to LA or stick it out with Harry for a while longer?

                “Ok Grace. I’ll let you go now so you can think… I love you.”

                “I love you too Mom.” She smiled a bit as her mother told her bye and she hung up, feeling only slightly better. As she put her phone back into her pocket she began to swing back and forth only by a few inches, thinking to herself about what she should do next. _Harry will know I’m missing soon and his mom is going to ask him what happened. He’s going to probably come looking for me soon, but I don’t want him to find me yet._

                She took in a deep breath of cold air and let out a sigh. Suddenly she caught the movement of a small object moving out of the corner of her eye. She thought it was maybe just a plastic bag blowing in the wind or some debris, but when she looked closer she saw it was the same black and white cat from Harry’s mom’s house.

                “What are you doing out here?” she asked quietly as the cat made a wide circle around her, watching her with curious, large yellow eyes. It let out a quiet mew as it sat not too far from her.

                “Your name is Sammy, isn’t it?” she asked again, feeling slightly silly for talking to a cat. The cat made no indication of caring as it turned its head around 180 degrees to lick at a patch of fur on its back suddenly.

                “You don’t care…” she grumbled as she looked away from the cat and up at the sky to note the several stars coming into view in the dark purple sky. For a moment she imagined herself back at home at her parents’ house, watching as each star popped into view as it got darker and darker. She imagined she was eighteen again, fresh out of high school and ready to tackle college. She had her friends, she had Jake out of her life, and Harry wasn’t a problem. It was just her, her family, and a new dog named Happy who was a long time resident of an animal shelter just outside of LA due to his old age.

                _I’d go back to that if Harry wasn’t here…_ She let out another sigh as she looked back down at the cat, who had now creepily moved closer to her. _I do want to stay with Harry, but what if he doesn’t want to stay with me?_

                Sammy let out another sudden mew as he stood up again to walk even closer to her. She thought maybe he’d jump in her lap, but he stopped just mere centimeters in front of her to only continue staring. She stared back at him, wondering what the cat’s deal was, but the cat dashed off suddenly before she could do anything else.

                _Weird cat._ She crinkled up her nose in annoyance as the cat disappeared from view behind a couple of bushes not too far away. It wasn’t until a few seconds later when she realized why the cat had fled.

“Grace!”

                Grace grimaced when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She ran through several lies she could tell him before he found her, but none of them seemed to make sense. _I wanted to be more honest with him this year, but I just can’t right now._

                “Grace what the fuck?” Harry half breathed when he finally found her at the swing set. He was breathing hard as he walked around the metal set to stand in front of her, leaning down to hold his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

                _Isn’t this position familiar from when I kicked him in the balls?_ She honestly felt like doing it again right now, but she pushed the thought aside as she tried to get her story together. _He’s going to ask me why I ran away and what’s going on and-_

“Why’d you run off like that?” he asked as soon as he caught his breath. He stood to his full height slowly, his long hair slightly falling into his face.

                “I just needed some time alone,” she lied, hoping he wouldn’t see through it. Harry knew her well enough that she did need her space, so hopefully he’d buy it.

                “So you just _run_ out of the house without telling anyone where you’re going,” he snapped.

                “I didn’t _run_ out of the house! I walked out because I needed some space. You would’ve found me anyway, I didn’t go far… or I would’ve just come back!”

                Harry looked both bewildered and irritated at her response as he let out a long sigh. “For fuck’s sake… What’s the matter with you?” He yelled at her this time.

                “What’s the matter with me!? More like what’s the matter with you?!” She shot right back. He wasn’t making this situation any better by shouting at her. She already felt like crying earlier, but if he kept yelling at her she honestly thought she might start crying again. “You were running around screaming my name all across the neighborhood!”

                “Because I was _scared_ Gracie! Mum was asking me what happened when she found me and if you were OK, and I didn’t _know_ what happened to you or what was going on! All I knew was you took off somewhere. You fucking _scared_ me! And I couldn’t find you and I didn’t know where you’d be and I knew you didn’t know your way around here…” He took a deep breath as he pushed his hair out of his face. “Just don’t _ever_ do that again. You scared me so bad Gracie.”

                She stopped arguing with him for a moment to realize that beyond that look of anger and the fact he was shouting at her, he was indeed worried about her. She looked away from him, feeling slightly guilty that she had scared him out so bad. _Well what else was I supposed to do? Just sit there and cry in his house so his sister could find me and laugh at me?_ “I’m sorry Harry…”

                He let out another quiet sigh as he watched her. After a few moments he made his way over to the empty swing beside her to sit down. “It’s fine just… Gracie… is everything OK? You’re… not yourself these days.”

                She didn’t respond as she stared down at the wood chips beneath their feet. She couldn’t tell him she overheard his conversation with his sister, and she couldn’t just tell him she was tired either. _I don’t know what to say…_

                “Look… I’m sorry if it’s something I did… and I’ll apologize for Gemma if she made you upset but… you’ve got to talk to me Gracie or I can’t help you.”

                _And I could say the same for you._ “I just…” she started but stopped, still not knowing what to say to him. She didn’t want him to worry, but at the same time she didn’t want him to get upset with her again.

                Harry remained quiet, making Grace incredulously nervous. Would he blow up on her again and get upset, or would he just get up and leave? She tensed when she saw him moving out of the corner of her eye, but to her surprise all he did was reach over and put his hand over hers on the swing.

                “Did you… did you hear what Gemma said? Is that why you ran away?”

                She froze as Harry watched her face quietly from his swing. _Do I say yes or no? And how does he always know these things?_ She bit her lip, deciding to take the honest approach as she nodded her head silently.

                “I figured…” He looked away from her as he dropped her hand to hold his own metal rope on his swing.

                “Do you really believe what she says Harry?” Grace asked quietly. She knew she probably shouldn’t be asking it, but she couldn’t help it.

                “No.” He answered a bit slower than she thought he would. “I know there are people out there like that, but you wouldn’t do that to me, would you Gracie?” She turned to face him to answer his question, but he continued talking as he kicked the wood chips below with the toe of his shoe. “You aren’t here for my money and the sex, right? You’re here because you like me for me, not the fame and to have your name with mine… right?”

                She studied his face, noticing he was very serious in this point of time, but behind that was a bit of uncertainty. _He’s really putting himself out there… Does he maybe think I would do that to him?_ “Harry, you know why I’m here with you. You’ve known since last year when you helped me move back into my apartment.”

                He gripped the metal on his swing tighter as he looked away from her. “Yeah when you rejected me?”

                “Harry we only knew each other for what… three months? You weren’t in love with me then.”

                “You _don’t_ know how I felt.” He gave her an irritated look before looking away.

                _I’m making him mad again._ “Well you’re right I don’t but… if I said yes to you right then and there do you think we’d be together now with how busy you were and how we both acted back then? These kinds of things need time and take time, and I wanted for us to work out. In a serious, long-term, committed relationship.” She met his eyes briefly. “I wanted us to _be_ something. Not something that just fades after a month or two.”

                “So you want something serious?”

                “ _Yes_. It’s all I want with you. Don’t you… want that too?” She hesitated for a moment in her last sentence, just wondering if Harry wanted her seriously or not. _What if he’s just been here all along to finally get in a quick lay and leave? But he wouldn’t take me over his mom’s house like this or spend so much time on me if he wanted that, right?_     

                “Yeah… I can honestly say I do.” He looked up at her finally. “I know we haven’t been together long but… you really are special to me Gracie and I don’t want to lose what we have, but… I don’t know.” He let out a frustrated sigh that had her frowning in concern. “When you’re someone like me, when you have a career like mine you just have to be careful and you understand that. I… I always hoped you wouldn’t be the type of girl Gem was talking about, and I know you aren’t… Ever since that first time you threw a hissy fit at me because I wanted to buy some clothes for you I knew you weren’t like that. And when you go out of your way to gift me little things and stay up into the wee hours of the morning with me to just make sure I’m OK and to just talk to me about _stuff_ … I really know you aren’t that way. If I’m really honest here, no woman has ever done that for me until you came along.”

                Grace could help but to feel all warm inside to hear that he was serious about her and to know she was so important to him. She knew he liked her and all, maybe even loved her, but she was never sure if he meant it or not when he said he loved her. “So you trust me?”

                 He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I mean I asked you out a second time, didn’t I?”

                “Well more like you made out with me to win me over. You didn’t even ask me to be your girlfriend.”

                Harry gave her a small smile that eventually turned into a quiet laugh. “I think the message got across though that I wanted you and you wanted me back, right?”

                She nodded as she returned his smile as well.

                “So… I’m really sorry you had to hear all of that. Gem’s just really overprotective of me, and she thinks I’m too good for anyone really.” Harry snorted a bit as he rolled his eyed. “But… you know she’ll warm up to you as time goes on so don’t let it bother you.”

                She nodded again which led them into a long moment of silence. She had to admit, she did feel better, but she still wasn’t ready to go back into his mom’s house. _It’s freezing out here though._ Her body shivered as she tried to pull her thin jacket closer to her but it didn’t help at all with blocking out the cold wind.

                “How long have you been out here? You’ve got to be freezing,” Harry muttered as he stood to his feet. “Come on, let’s go-”

                “No Harry… can we stay out here longer? I… I just need more time out here.”

                “You’re going to get us both turned into popsicles,” he joked. Before she knew it he was taking his jacket off and putting it around her shoulders.

                “Harry you’ll-”

                “Shhh.” He stood over her as he gripped the metal of the swing above her. “I’ll be fine. I’m used to this weather anyway. Cold, wet and dreary.”

                “Is that why you moved out to LA?” She brought his jacket closer to his face as the wind started to blow harder. _He definitely switched colognes recently,_ she thought when his familiar scent mixed with his new cologne hit her nose. _Not bad._

                “Yeah mostly.” He laughed a bit. “But you know… if I never moved out there I would’ve never met you.”

                “Oh Harry stop it!” _He’s so corny sometimes…_

                “But it’s true, right? I’d be here in England wishing I could find the girl of my dreams. And you’d be in California wishing you could find that man of your dreams.”

                “Aren’t you poetic tonight?”

                “Well, I do write songs after all.” He gave her a small smile despite her sarcasm. “But… Gracie I have a question.”

                “Yeah?” She looked back at him, just hoping he wouldn’t ask her anything weird or serious right now. Her brain felt like it was running on overload after everything that had happened today.

                “Do you want to spend the night or go back to the hotel?” He met her eyes briefly before looking away. “It’s getting late, and if we stay any longer we might as well stay here.”

                “Well, what do you want to do?” she asked, not really caring about the options. It would take them several hours to get back to their hotel, and in that time they could be sleeping at his mom’s house. Then again she had to wonder where she would sleep for the night. Surely she couldn’t just sleep in the same bed as him.

                “I want to sleep in _my_ bed, so I kinda want to stay here. If you want to go back to the hotel though-”

                “We can stay,” she cut him off.

                “Alright. I’ll just explain to Mum you weren’t feeling the best when we go back in.”

                “Thanks Harry.” She noticed a shiver run through his body, letting her know he was getting colder. “We should go back in now though. They may begin to worry with the way you left the house.”

                “Well shit, I was worried about you.” He stepped back a bit so she could stand up.

                “I know you were. I’m sorry again for scaring you like that.” She leaned up briefly to give him a quick kiss on the lips. She thought he’d just let her go with that, but the next thing she knew he was grabbing her waist to hold her while he pressed his lips back against hers again. It was a longer kiss than she expected, but she didn’t mind it at all.

                “You know you’re sleeping in my bed tonight with me right?” He whispered across her lips when he pulled away. She had to admit, he looked handsome in the dimly lit park with the way his green eyes captured the light from the street light behind her.

                “Yeah,” she breathed, not even bothering to argue with him as she reconnected their lips again instantly. She wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him in closer as he shivered once again against her. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was cold, or even if it was because she was dominating him this time and he liked it. All she knew was he was warm and soft as always, and tasted like a hint of peppermint as he smiled into the last kisses of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, and thank you all for your kudos/subs/comments! Means a lot to know this story is as fun for you guys to read as it is to me to write it! It has really been a pleasure to share this story with you all, and we're quickly approaching the end of this book. Next update you'll learn more about Harry, and just _maybe_ get some hints on what he's been hiding from Grace all along. I'll see you all next update!


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